American Mew Mew
by Ember Ardent Flame
Summary: When Professor Shirogane started the Mew Project, he tested the animal DNA on several subjects. Something caused this DNA to remain dormant in his subjects' bodies, but it was somehow passed to their children. Now Ryou is back to finish what his father began. But the aliens have unfinished business too... Uses OC's, not badly written ones though. COMPLETE!
1. Introduction

**American Mew Mew: Introduction**

**Author:**** Hi everyone! It's me! Just thought I'd let you know that my long awaited Tokyo Mew Mew fanfic is finally here. (It's not 100% finished, and I still have a few bugs to work out as of this post date. However, I've decided to take Whitewolfffy's advice and post it anyway. I figure it will give me motivation to finish.)**

**So, to start things off, I will you give you an advanced warning: THIS FANFIC USES OC'S. All haters of OC's are advised not to read this, as it is heavily based upon them. Second: RELIGION PLAYS A ROLE. For anyone who is easily "offended", no one is forcing you to read this, so don't flame me unless you want me to cite you the First Amendment of the Constitution. Not only do I have to freedom to write about my religion, but you have the freedom not to read it if you so wish.**

**For everyone who has made it this far without pushing the "back" arrow, thank you very much and enjoy the story!**

**Also, let me put this out on the table here and now. I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I know that, you know that, and Ikumi Mia knows that, so I'll only be saying it once. Also, I wasn't aware that Kish, Pai, and Taruto were actually brothers until my story had over 20 chapters, so in this story, they aren't brothers. **

**So, let's begin with the theme song I wrote especially for this:**

**Strange coincidences coincide with one another/ Then you do something you never thought you'd do/**

**Thinking for a while that you've made a huge mistake/ But it turns out that this path was meant for you/**

**You can never be sure of what tomorrow brings/ But you can never fail once you have found your destiny/**

**Your purpose is always in the last place that you look/ And soon you find your life unfolding like the pages of a book/**

**Everybody's watching you as you soar higher and higher/ And they all want what you have/**

**A heart on fire-/**


	2. Prologue

_3 years earlier…_

"Well, that's the end of the St. Rose Crusaders. They were pretty weak, weren't they? Anyways, good job Mew Berry," Ryou said with his hands on his hips.

"Ar- Arigato,"(Th- Thank you.) Berri replied, obviously stunned to hear any kind of praise coming from Ryou.

"Well, you're all back to normal now, so I have some business to take care of." Ryou began walking toward the staircase that led to his bedroom on the second floor of the café.

"Shirogane-san," Retasu asked, pushing her glasses up her nose, "is something wrong?" She had picked up on his somber mood. He was usually an enormous flirt, but today he hadn't sexually harassed any of his employees.

He stopped at her words and turned around halfway, looking at the girl's faces with an expression on his own that was hard to read. Then he said, "I'm leaving."

"W-W-What?" Ichigo burst out. "You can't just leave, Shirogane-san!"

He gave her a bemused look. "Yes, I can. You don't control my comings and goings, you baka." Though his words were harsh, they lacked the usual tone. He didn't seem angry with Ichigo (oddly), it was more like he was just stating the facts. Everyone stared at him with confused expressions (except Zakuro, who is never confused by anything.)

"What do you mean, Shirogane-san?" Retasu's voice quavered a little. "Where are you going?"

He groaned softly. He was tempted to embarrass them all by saying something ridiculous like, "To the bathroom. Do you have a problem with that?" but decided that now it was probably better to be serious. Then he spoke quietly. "If you must know, Keiichiro and I have some things to do in America."

This owned a shocked outburst from every girl besides Zakuro.

Retasu: "B- but we need you, Shirogane-san!"

Ichigo: "America? What do you mean, 'America'?"

Minto: "What if a new enemy comes along? We'll be defenseless!"

Bu-Ling: "Akasaka-san is going too, na-no-da?"

Berri: "What about the café?"

"Calm down everybody!" Ryou yelled. He then proceeded to answer their questions in the order he'd heard them among the jumbled chaos. "I'm confident that no new enemy will appear soon, and am even more confident that they won't attack Tokyo when they show up. Yes, Keiichiro is going with me. And I've said it this whole time. The café is just a cover. We don't need it at the moment.

"And Ichigo, 'America' means America. What else could it mean, you baka?"

"What kind of business?" Zakuro's level voice rang out clear and quiet. She caught Ryou under her always deadly serious gaze. "Another… Mew Mew?"

The shock barely registered on Ryou's face, and it disappeared almost as soon as it came. Of course the ever clever Zakuro had figured it out. Why else would he leave them so vulnerable?

"Correct," he answered in a voice just as quiet and just as clear. "My father was the one who started the Mew Project." Ryou's face grew distant for a moment in memory, but returned to his typical apathetic expression after a few seconds. "Somehow, the animal DNA was dormant in the bodies of his test subjects. But it was passed on to their offspring. These new Wild Mews might be a danger to society. I'm going to make sure they won't be."

"But, Shirogane-san, there's no enemy. These Mews are every bit as powerless as we are now, right?" Minto pointed out.

"My father's experiments weren't perfect… So no."

Everyone was shocked. Even Zakuro's expression changed a little upon hearing it. "I see," she said, turning toward the door to the employee locker room. "Good luck, Shirogane. Safe journey." And with that she left to go change out of her uniform.

"Arigato, Zakuro. Sayonara… minah." (Thanks Zakuro. Good-bye everyone.)

_Meanwhile, on Cynclonia…_

"Is it just me, or is it getting colder?" Kisshu asked. He sat on the grass with Pai and Taruto, just enjoying the fact that everything was okay.

"It isn't just you…" Pai spoke in their native language. Kisshu had a bad habit of continuing to converse in Japanese.

Suddenly, a taller, more muscular version of Kisshu stood before them with black hair and dark brown, knowing eyes. The air behind him rippled with the teleportation and his long, black braid floated a little until the ripple subsided.

"Soren, hi! Wh-" Kisshu started to greet him, but his older brother cut him off.

"You idiots had better have a back-up plan," Soren snapped.

"That's no way to speak to the clan's finest warriors," Pai barked, perturbed at Soren's insult, especially since Pai himself was Soren's elder.

Soren narrowed his eyes at Pai. "You must not have been informed."

"Informed about what?" Kisshu asked. Taruto played with a blade of grass and looked bored.

"That Mew Aqua you brought us only stores energy. It doesn't create it." Soren said this as if it explained everything.

"We knew that before we got it," Kisshu said to Soren. And then to Pai, "Remember when we stole Ichigo's scepter thingy, and it was empty?" Then Kisshu understood. That's why it had been getting colder. He looked around and realized they were the only ones above ground. "But… It couldn't possibly run out yet! It was enough to last a century."

"For an Earth city like Tokyo, perhaps. But for our desolate planet…" Soren let the rest hang in the air, too afraid to finish.

Suddenly the whole landscape changed. The grass withered and turned brown, the trees lost their leaves and looked sickly, the sky filled with green clouds, and what had been a summer day in paradise had turned into a wretched autumn on a polluted wasteland. And they all knew that worse was still to come.

"Follow me," commanded Soren, and they were all immediately aware of his position as king's advisor. He teleported away and the other three dove into his ripple to follow. They found themselves in the underground space hull. "You're going back to Earth." Soren's voice rang with authority. "Be sure and _finish_ the job this time."

"But, the Mew Mews killed Deep Blue," Pai responded in earnest. "How can we stand a chance against them now?"

"You will follow the instruction of Mistress Blood Red," Soren said matter-of-factly.

Kisshu almost choked in shock when he tried to speak, "But she is not the leader of our clan! We're Aquites. How can we be expected to follow the goddess of the Ardenites?"

"You have to. There is no alternative," Soren stated as they stood next to the space ship. "And you're not going by yourselves this time. To make sure the job is done, you're taking Gentiel with you."

The three warriors froze at the mention of that name. Gentiel was the most famous of the Ardenite warriors, rumored to be emotionless. He had never once been defeated. And more importantly, he was Blood Red's fiancé. He was such a powerful warrior that no one even questioned his engagement to the goddess.

Soren glanced up at the open door of the spaceship. "Ah, Gentiel, you're already here so quickly?"

The Ardenite warrior stood on the steps near the spaceship's entryway. "Of course," he replied in monotone. "There is no time to spare. This matter is very important to Mistress Blood Red." Kisshu looked him up and down as he spoke. Broadly built, yet lean. Average warrior attire. Hazel-brown eyes. And blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, reminding him of the Blue Knight. Kisshu wanted to punch him already.

They boarded the ship and left Soren and Cynclonia behind. As they rose into the atmosphere, Kisshu noticed that the ground was already buried under waist-deep, poisonous snow.

Pai stared at a few instruments and swore. "This is going to take longer than expected," he muttered in their native language of Cyncloni.

"Why?" Kisshu asked in Japanese, eager to get to Earth for reasons other than taking it over.

"Last time our planet was conveniently within the orbit of a wormhole, allowing us to arrive in a matter of months. This time, we're out of its range…" Pai supplied.

"Of course we are out of its range. Cynclonia only falls into orbit of the wormhole once in a century for the time period of two years," Gentiel droned in monotone. Pai nodded, remembering. Kisshu crossed his arms, thinking impatiently about Ichigo.

_Back on Earth…_

Ember Wolffe sat in the social worker's office again as Maryanne talked to a man and a guy just outside the door. Ember wasn't paying attention to anything they were saying. She just sat in the office and waited for the verdict. She hadn't asked to be a half-wolf freak. But yet she was one, and somehow every foster family could tell. They would always send her back to social services with a similar phrase: "No, she didn't do anything wrong. She just doesn't… mesh well with our family." No one truly knew how much of a freak she really was, but they sensed it somehow. She was rejected so many times that she had taken to calling herself Lone Wolffe. Here she was again as her social worker interviewed the prospective foster family. Some fourteenth birthday she was having.

The voices outside the door made happy sounds, then Maryanne walked in with the two males in tow. "Good news, Ember," she smiled. "This is Mr. Keiichiro Akasaka and his adopted son, Ryou. And," she paused for suspense, "they're going to adopt you!"

Ember blinked. What? Did she just say "adopt"? She looked at the two people standing before her. They were going to… adopt her? This was, without a doubt, her best birthday ever.


	3. First Date, First Battle

_Present Day…_

"Hey, Ember! Catch," Josué **[Author: pronounced "hoss-oo-AY"] **threw something at her. She watched it swirl through the air, and then caught it, whatever _it_ was. He walked over to her.

"What is it?" she asked.

He feigned being dumbfounded. "You mean you've never gotten a gift before?" His face turned to mock shock.

Ember rolled her eyes but found his sarcasm endearing. "Sure I have. Just never one quite like," she looked at the object in her hand, "this. This is a…?"

"It's a butane pocket torch," he explained. At Ember's look of confusion, he clarified, "It's like a lighter, but cooler. Here, let me show you how it works." He then proceeded to flip a small switch on the device, remove the lid, and press a button. Out flickered a small, blue flame. Ember smiled. Only Josué would give a present like this. Only Josué _could_ give a present like this. To think that she happened to be friends with one of the school's most popular guys, who also happened to be a technology wizard. He had even started his own at-home computer repair business off of which he made a lot of money. It may have been weird that a tech-head was the hottest guy on campus, but some people just have charisma. That doesn't mean they can't have skills too.

"Now you try," he held the torch out to her.

"On school grounds?" she raised her eyebrows and glanced around to see if anyone was within hearing distance. No one was even in sight, save Josué.

"Sure. Why not?" His voice held a flirty tone, so of course she couldn't resist. She took the torch and pressed the button, then watched the flame flicker blue from burning the butane.

"_It's pretty awesome," _she thought as she turned slightly away from him. _"And little does he know exactly how helpful this thing might be."_ She smiled and released the button.

As she turned to face him, Josué asked, "Do you want to go out with me?"

Ember blinked in shock. She had only been waiting for this moment for an _entire year_. Her mind screamed, _"YES!"_ But her mouth answered him with his own words in that same, flirty tone. "Sure. Why not?"

* * *

Kisshu yawned and stretched. The trip sure was boring. They had been on the spaceship for 1,001 Earth days. (Literally; he had counted the twenty-four hour segments.) He floated toward the training room. It was a little weird to float without having to fight gravity, but he had gotten used to it. After about 200 reps with a two-ton barbell (there was no gravity, so it was like lifting two pounds) he got bored and decided to play his favorite game with Taruto. It was called, "Mock Gentiel until He Displays Emotion". The winner was the one who made Gentiel display any emotion whatsoever. Nobody had won yet.

Back in the control room, Kisshu winked at Taruto and began. "Hey, Gentiel, did you know that Earthlings make jokes about blondes being dumb? I wonder if that's why you never react to any of our insults." Taruto chuckled and Kisshu noticed the brat had gotten taller since their journey began. He wondered if this was due to lack of gravity, or just the fact that the pipsqueak had finally hit puberty. More importantly, he wondered if he himself had gotten taller as well.

"That is not the reason," Gentiel's monotone voice droned. "A display of aggravation would merely give you the reaction you seek from me and in turn give you a way to control me. I have heard of your many talents, Kisshu, and happen to know that emotional manipulation is one of them."

Kisshu smirked and recountered, "Aw, Gentiel. Did you just say I was talented?" He was smiling with confidence now, sure that he had Gentiel outsmarted.

"I do possess a list of your talents, but with it there is also a list of your flaws. Would you like to compare their lengths?" Gentiel remarked without blinking, voice and face still emotionless.

"I give up!" Kisshu complained, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "Even this game is no fun anymore." He crossed his arms over his chest and mumbled, "How long until we get to Tokyo?"

Pai glanced at Kisshu, a little surprised, then looked over at Gentiel. "You didn't tell him?"

"Why would you expect me to tell him, Pai?" Gentiel droned a reply. "He's already whiny enough."

"Hey!" Kisshu barked.

Pai sighed and spoke in English (as the aliens understand all Earth languages), "Kisshu, we are not going to Tokyo or Japan. This time, we are going to America, as it is Earth's most powerful nation. If it is destroyed first, then the rest of the planet should be easy."

"Oh terrible!" Kisshu grumbled in Japanese. "Now I won't even get to see my nekomimi-chan."

All of a sudden, the ship balked. "Welcome to Earth's atmosphere, boys. We will be landing in the American state of Kentucky in a matter of minutes. Though it is very unlikely to find a resistance strong enough to be considered an enemy, if we do then, Kisshu, try to refrain from kissing them," Gentiel instructed as the ship was sucked into Earth's gravity.

* * *

Ember giggled over the date she had just finished with Josué. It was so perfect! _"He didn't try to impress me with fancy food at a high class restaurant. He didn't try to undermine my independence by opening the door for me when I got out of the car, but was considerate enough to do so when I was getting in. We went to the park, and while walking on the trail, he considered me enough to walk slowly. Or maybe he had just wanted to spend more time with me by not rushing through it? Either way, it was nice. Somehow, he knew I'm not the type to get thrilled by fancy things. It was nice enough just to be with him, having his blue eyes stare into my brown ones. Oh, I felt like I was flying through a summer sky! When he held my hand and I felt his pulse racing next to my own, it was so unifying. Perhaps I'm just easily impressed, but these are the things unique to him. No one else has his eyes, his hands, and his smile." _So thinking, she smiled to herself. Letting out a dreamy sigh, she removed the torch from her pocket and played with it. As the spark became flame, she hoped that would be a metaphor for their relationship. Ember had wanted Josué for a long time, and now she had him. _"Even if it was just a spark," _she reminded herself as she took the flame in her hand and focused on it, causing it to grow into an orange ball of fire, _"I'm a pyrokenetic. I can make a spark grow."_ She smiled.

Ryou watched her play with fire. And he had thought that Ichigo had it bad for Masaya. That was nothing when compared to this. She sat across from him in the living room, him on the loveseat, her in the wingback chair. He remembered the first day he had met this Wild Mew. She had been so closed off and reserved, but that had apparently been only from being the rejected foster kid. The past years had proven her to be an outgoing person. Once he had started teaching her about her inner Mew Mew and told her to embrace it as her destiny, she had developed a confidence about herself as well. And Ryou had learned something interesting.

The Wild Mew fought differently than the cultivated Mew Mew he had created. Rather than having a weapon and an element combined, they were separate. Her weapon was no more complex than a heavy, wooden staff. Her element was fire, which she controlled with her mind (like she was now doing), but couldn't generate on her own. The odd thing, and perhaps the reason for the differences, was the animal whose DNA she shared was not a Red Data animal. The arctic wolf only lived in certain parts of the world, but it lived in conditions that humans could not tolerate, and therefore was not vulnerable to hunting or habitat loss. Perhaps this was why her abilities were different.

Ember, however, had found strength in the Christian faith that she had been taught in her ninth foster home. She refused to believe that her powers came strictly from the wolf DNA, and instead insisted that they were gifts bestowed upon her by God to protect the Earth from any outside threat that might arise before His second coming. She believed, however, that if humans caused the problem, then humans should deal with it. A Mew was for things that couldn't be solved with diplomacy. Ryou knew this meant she would not have fought the St. Rose Crusaders, but she would have fought the aliens. He didn't understand her logistics, but at least she didn't refuse to fight altogether.

He was still reflecting on her way of thinking when Keiichiro ran up from the basement, yelling in Japanese. "Ryou! I just picked up a massive energy reading on the computer. I think it's the aliens. They're back!" He bent over, panting for oxygen.

"Nani?" (What?) Ryou exclaimed, then dashed downstairs to check the readings himself. "Huge…" He pounded up the steps again, yelling in English. "Ember, snap out of it! Mew Lone Wolf needs to patrol the city, now!"

She blinked at him with an expression that clearly asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yes! Go! NOW! We think it's the aliens again."

Ember stood and began to transform. As a Wild Mew, she didn't have a pendant and didn't need one. No pendant meant no words to activate it. She was merely surrounded in white light as the change took place: A strapless white dress with a heart shaped bodice that opened on the back and sides wrapped around her with a skirt that only reached mid-thigh. White knee-high boots hugged her calves like a second skin. A white garter appeared on her left thigh, and two matching arm bands appeared on her upper arms. Her wavy, auburn hair became stick-straight and turned the same shade of white as everything else. (Though it was white, it was somewhat off-white, like the outfit had been washed in with the jeans too much.) Finally, her warm brown eyes turned yellow, and white wolf ears and a wolf tail protruded from her head and rear. With a nod to Ryou, she was off into the night with the strength, speed, and combat skills of a Mew Mew inside of her.

* * *

Kisshu flew through the air at a leisurely speed. It was so nice to be off the ship. It felt good to have to fight gravity again. He noticed that this tiny Kentucky city, called Louisville, seemed a lot less polluted than Tokyo. It was miniscule in comparison, but it was a much cleaner area to conquer, he decided. He could enjoy himself here, even if it meant he wouldn't get to see Ichigo. Maybe he should find himself a replacement toy, lest he be tempted to leave their current duty and visit her in Japan. He smirked to himself and decided that he would do just that. And while he was at it, he could take a crack at some damage and destruction. Gentiel might display an emotion close to happiness if the city was theirs by morning, and then he could win his game with Taruto too.

So thinking, he spawned a parasite and searched around for a host. Spotting a stray cat on the ground below him, he released the little jellyfish to do its work. As the cat changed into a Chimera Anima, Kisshu watched the river flow by. An air ripple and a purple figure hovering over the surface of the water told him that Pai was taking samples to test for pollutants. Science nerd.

The Chimera Anima stood at attention before him. "Um, right…" Kisshu hesitated. "Go terrorize humans, destroy buildings, and try not to get killed." He smirked on the last statement, knowing it was highly improbable. The Mews were on the other side of the planet, after all. The faster they conquered Louisville, the faster they could move on to more well-built and difficult cities. He telepathically told the Chimera to work quickly, thinking of the people he had left behind. And the Chimera did so. Kisshu relaxed in a tree in the park by the river… until his Anima sent him a distress call.

* * *

Lone Wolf leapt from rooftop to rooftop, going as fast as she could and scanning the horizon for anything out of the ordinary. She noticed a pack of news helicopters over by Spaghetti Junction. Chances were that it was just another wreck. That area was famous for them. But she should check, just to be sure. Rather than go over there and expose herself to cameras, she leapt onto the roof of the nearest McDonald's and pulled out her iPod. She was happy that McDonald's had free Wi-Fi.

Bringing up the site for WAVE 3 news, she saw the top story seemed to be the sudden collapse of one of the on-ramps of the Kennedy Bridge. She found a picture and zoomed in on it. There was a very faint outline of a paw print that took up a whole car lane. Was this the work of a Chimera? Ryou had said they were huge, but dang! This thing was bigger than huge, it was colossal. Her yellow eyes grew wide. She had to fight _this?_

She switched off the iPod and began to follow what she felt in her spirit. (Ryou called it her instinct, but whatever.) Stopping in the hospital district, she looked around. Behind her, there was a sudden scream. When she turned around, Lone realized that it must have been a high-pitched roar. There was the Chimera Anima. It looked like a gigantic black-and-red jaguar with teeth so big they barely fit in its mouth. Its tail resembled that of a scorpion, and its fur looked as sharp as needles. And she had to fight it.

She brought out Josué's torch, _her_ torch, and lit a flame. Taking the fire in her hand, she put the torch away. As she focused on the fire, she forced it to expand and grow. She took aim at the Chimera, and the 3-foot-wide fireball hit the monster on its right shoulder. Her only thought as the Anima charged for her was, "Oh spaz!"

* * *

Kisshu teleported to the scene just in time to watch the white wolf Mew dodge his Chimera's charge. She ran while carrying a small device, smaller than any of the weapons the Mews had used before. He decided to observe her in order to learn her weakness. She seemed to be alone. It would be easy to wipe her out right now. She didn't even seem to have that much power. But maybe, just maybe, he could use her for something.

The device spit out a small flame. Pathetic… until suddenly the fire grew in the palm of her hand. She aimed and blasted his Chimera with enough heat to make it bellow in agony. She repeated the action in rapid succession until the parasite gave up its host. Then she took another flame and incinerated the parasite itself. _"Impressive for a lone Mew,"_ Kisshu thought. _"Perhaps I should go and introduce myself."_

* * *

Lone Wolf stared at the little black cat that stood across from her on Jewish Hospital's helicopter pad, in shock. This harmless little stray was the same monster that had just been using a parking garage for a scratching post? _"Wow. When Ryou said that the aliens were a tough enemy, he wasn't kidding."_

"Konichiwa, Mew Mew," spoke a voice from somewhere behind her. She jumped and turned around in the same motion. There was nothing there… Still on edge, she turned back around, and screamed.

Floating right in front of her was a green-haired, yellow-eyed, big-eared, pale-skinned she-didn't-know-what that had the audacity to clamp its hand over her mouth. Was this an alien? Now she really wished that she'd paid attention in that Alien 101 class Ryou had given her. The only thing she remembered was that one of them had tendencies towards stalking, but she couldn't remember which one. Her eyes widened and her pulse pounded in fear. She didn't want to enemy to know she was afraid, but it was apparently too late for that. All of this raced through her mind in about two seconds, and then the grip on her mouth tightened into something painful.

"_Clear your head, Ember. Let Lone Wolf fulfill her destiny,"_ she soothed herself.

The alien looked into her eyes and smirked. "Kawaii. Too bad I have to kill you." Lone Wolf knew in that instant what she had to do. She worked to reposition her mouth. Green-hair was confused and asked, a little amusedly, "Are you kissing my hand?" The alien's eyes glowed suggestively, and then Lone Wolf bit.

The Cyniclon screamed and pulled back its hand, using the other to slap her so hard that she fell to the ground. "You're a feisty little thing, aren't you?" he? she? asked, straddling her and holding her down, as if to do something very inappropriate.

Lone Wolf looked at its chest. No breasts, but there was only one way to be sure. As its face lowered to hers, her knee quickly rose to its groin. He yowled and grabbed his loins. _"Okay, so we've established it's a boy,"_ she mused, freeing herself from him and retreating a few feet away. _"What now? How to fight it?"_ She didn't want to risk losing Josué's gift, so she decided on her staff. She called for it in her mind and it came.

He recovered and stood up, a short sword appearing in either hand. "So you want to play rough, my new toy?" he asked in Japanese. Lone Wolf was confused by the switch in language and didn't understand what he had said, but decided it didn't matter. She raised her staff and ran at him. Weirdly, he seemed to enjoy fighting her, as if it were a game.

"_This is definitely the stalker one,"_ she swallowed fearfully but kept swinging her staff. He blocked her blows over and over but never attempted to strike her himself. He goaded her on, as if he were testing her skills. Too weird.

"Huh. Pathetic," were his final words. Then he shoved her staff from his swords and leapt into the sky, disappearing with a ripple of air.

"Maybe it's okay that he was the stalker one," she contemplated aloud. "If he wasn't, I'd probably be dead by now."

* * *

Kisshu had enjoyed playing with his new toy. He hoped to see her again soon. She could prove to be a suitable replacement, but only time would tell.

* * *

Ember was happy that the next day was Saturday. After a night like that, she would need her rest.

Her iPod woke her up at 9:30 a.m. with a text message from her best friend, Grace. –"Emergency! I'll be ur place asap." –

Ember moaned and typed a short reply. – "K." – Yawning, she went to go take a shower.

Thirty minutes later, Ember sat in her bedroom with wet hair and her best friend, Grace. Grace paced the floor in ballet strides that matched her name. Ember thought this odd, as Grace was the kind of girl who could sit still for hours without moving. Whatever this was, it was serious.

"Okay, what's stressing you enough to wear a hole in my floor?" she asked sarcastically. Then kinder, "You usually never move this much."

"Okay, Ember, don't freak out!" Grace sounded really scared.

Ember was amused. _"If only you knew what I went through last night, you wouldn't be worried,"_ she reassured her in her thoughts. It was just too bad she couldn't say it out loud…

Grace looked at her, waiting for an answer. "Oh, no, I won't freak out. I promise," Ember used her finger to draw an X over her heart.

Grace looked relieved. "Okay," she spoke quicker than Ember had ever heard her speak before, "here it goes and I'm just gonna get it over with and show you because you'd never believe me if I told you because it sounds totally insane!" Ember just smiled. Grace then proceeded to do something astounding.

Her fiery orange hair turned platinum blonde, her green eyes turned caramel brown, her comfy sweats outfit was replaced by a cream-colored ballet ensemble, the tutu of which was composed entirely of feathers. On her feet appeared golden point shoes which had cream-colored ribbons which wound themselves around her calves in a criss-cross. In her blonde hair appeared a golden tiara that sparkled with what very much looked like real diamonds. And finally, out from between her shoulder blades stretched a pair of creamy white wings with a span of about twenty feet. The newly transformed Grace stood in front of her friend with a look of timid apprehension.

Ember was so stunned, the first thing she did was clap. When Grace looked pained by this reaction, she stopped. As the puzzle pieces connected in Ember's mind, the next thing she did was give Grace a wild and enthusiastic hug. This shocked Grace enough to make her tense up and cause her wings to snap backward and knock the lamp off of Ember's bedside table.

Ember just laughed and squealed in delight, "Oh, Grace, this is fantastic! You're a Mew Mew too! Ryou said there could be others, but I never suspected that one was my best friend! It just seemed too improbable. Oh Grace, I'm so happy!"

Grace blinked. "Ember, what are you talking about? W- What does Ryou have to do with this?" Grace was blushing profusely. Ember had forgotten about Grace's crush on Ryou, and she released her best friend from the hug and laughed.

"Oh, I'll let him explain the rest, Grace," Ember winked at her and Grace's blush deepened.

It did so even more when Ryou opened the door and yelled, "What the heck is going on in - " he stopped short when he saw the Mew Mew. "Oh." He muttered something in Japanese, and then asked, "Ember, who is this?"

Ember laughed. "What's the matter, Ryou? You don't recognize Grace?"

"Ember…" Grace whined timidly. She looked so cute as a Mew Mew that Ember couldn't take her seriously. Ryou kept staring at her tutu.

"Hey you baka pervert, that's my bestie standing there!" Ember yelled. Ryou averted his eyes. Grace blushed harder.

"Ember, I'm freaking out now. What's going on?" Grace asked.

Ryou answered, "You are a Mew Mew, and so is Ember," he gestured at his housemate.

"Which is a what exactly?" Grace asked, turning to Ryou, her legs assuming fourth position.

"It's kind of like a superhero," Ryou replied. Then he added in a somewhat flirty tone, "Are you ready to save the world?"

Grace wasn't blushing anymore. In fact, she looked like all of the blood had drained from her face. And then, Grace Swann passed out.


	4. New Mew Orientation

**Author:**** You guys may think this chapter is short, when in reality the first chapter was just really long. This chapter is probably around the average length that you'll be getting.**

"Alright," Gentiel began. "We need to compose a plan. Pai, what are the results of your tests?"

Kisshu leaned against a pillar in the aliens' alternate dimension headquarters, smirking. He would wait his turn and shock all of them.

"The water here isn't as polluted as it was in Tokyo," Pai answered. "As a result, there are more life forms available for hosting in the river."

"Good," Gentiel nodded. "What about you, Taruto?"

"The plants here are a lot happier than they were in Tokyo. They don't want vengeance on the humans, but they are open to the idea of spreading their roots and taking back the land," the pre-teen alien replied.

Gentiel nodded, and then turned to Kisshu. "I highly doubt you did any research at all."

Kisshu smirked. "You are right about that. I had a little fun instead." Pai snorted in disgust. Kisshu continued, pretending not to have heard. "I made a Chimera Anima and sent it out to play." Gentiel's eyebrows lowered in disapproval, but Kisshu just kept talking. "And it turns out, my Anima found a Mew Mew." Pai's face turned to shock; Taruto's to disbelief. Gentiel didn't react.

"I- Impossible," Pai stammered. "They are in Japan."

"Oh, this Mew was new. She was alone, but managed to defeat the Chimera anyway. After that, I made it a point to introduce myself," Kisshu's smirk faltered.

"This is going to be that old hag all over again," Taruto mumbled.

"Kisshu, you didn't…?" Pai let the rest hang in the air.

"No, I didn't kiss her," Kisshu said, then admitted, "that's not to say I didn't try." Gentiel's brow furrowed even more. "We fought a bit. It's obvious that she hasn't been trained. I figured I'd ask your opinion about what to do with her," he finished, looking at Gentiel.

Gentiel raised one eyebrow in suspicion. "You need to ask? Kill her. That should have been apparent."

"May I suggest an alternative?" Kisshu asked, raising his gold eyes to meet Gentiel's hazel ones.

He heard Pai mumble, "Baka," (fool) under his breath. Gentiel merely waited.

"You mentioned one of my talents was emotional manipulation," Kisshu paused, and Gentiel nodded for him to continue. "It's obvious this Mew is a rookie," he smirked. "It should be easy to convince her to switch sides."

Gentiel broke eye contact and seemed pensive. Finally, he spoke, "I'll present the idea to Mistress Blood Red…" and then, looking at Kisshu again, "but you will respect her decision and follow her orders."

"Yes Gentiel," Kisshu bowed at the waist, and Pai gave him a suspicious look. They both knew that Kisshu would do what he wanted to do regardless of Blood Red. As Gentiel walked away, Kisshu asked, "Gentiel, if she's your fiancée, why do you still refer to her as 'Mistress'?" Gentiel stopped walking. "Why must you still be so formal?"

Gentiel replied in monotone, "For the same reason you must ask such stupid questions." Then he walked away again.

"Alright Kisshu," Taruto shrugged. "I guess you win."

"What?" Kisshu inquired.

Taruto clarified, "Gentiel's face looked… sad." Kisshu blinked. So the great Gentiel was not so emotionless after all…

* * *

Grace woke up in a room she didn't recognize, in Ryou's arms. She jumped, and something behind her beat the air noisily. She turned slightly and remembered at the sight of white-blonde hair falling over her shoulder. Ryou was still holding her, one arm under her knees, the other behind her head, kneeling on the floor. He was staring at her. She blushed and jumped again, her wings involuntarily unfolding and flapping, lifting her out of Ryou's arms and into the air. Ryou stood up and backed away as her legs swung downward, narrowly missing his head. She landed gently, en pointe.

Investigating the room, she noticed the walls were covered with white, soundproof foam. The room hummed, obviously lined with electronic equipment.

"How do you like the training room?" asked a familiar voice. But when Grace turned, the figure leaning against the wall was not familiar at all: white clothes, white hair, and white animal appendages, along with disconcerting yellow eyes.

"Who are you?" Grace responded, and the wolf girl's eyebrows rose.

"You don't recognize me? Then again, I wouldn't have recognized you had you not transformed in front of me."

"Ember?" Grace was incredulous.

"That's my secret identity," she winked and put a finger to her lips. Then, putting forth the same hand, "I'm Mew Lone Wolf. It's nice to meet you, Mew En Pointe."

"What?" Grace asked.

Ryou answered, and she was suddenly very aware of his presence again. "You are a Mew Mew, a super lady. It is your job to fight threats on the Earth. Currently, that threat is aliens trying to destroy our planet and take it for themselves."

"Aliens?" Grace sounded skeptical.

"You're finding that hard to believe?" Lone Wolf asked. "Sweetie, you have wings. Aliens should be easy to digest by now."

"You believe this?" Grace asked her best friend. Ever the science mind, she wanted proof.

"Believe it? I fought one of them last night. He was really creepy," Lone Wolf shuddered.

Ryou's eyes went wide. "You did what?"

Wolf winced. "Did I forget to mention that?"

"Which one was it?" It was a question, but sounded more like a demand.

"Umm, about that…" Lone Wolf stared at the floor. "I didn't exactly pay attention in Alien 101. Which one has the green hair and stalker-like tendencies again?"

Ryou's blue eyes went dark with enmity. "Kisshu," it was almost a growl. "What did he do to you?" Ryou actually looked… concerned about her well-being?

"_Well I suppose there really is a first time for everything," _Lone mused to herself before speaking aloud, "Nothing." Ryou looked skeptical but relieved, until she said, "Not that he didn't try. I kneed him in the balls."

Grace shook her head, clearly confused. "Wait, what are you guys talking about?"

Ryou paused to think, and then decided to just show her. "Sit down," he ordered.

"Where?" Grace asked, looking around for a chair. Suddenly, a section of the wall to her right began to move forward. She jumped in a startled manner, and then undid her transformation. She was back to red hair, green eyes, and wearing a T-shirt & sweats. The section of the wall stopped moving, and Grace realized it was a bench. "Woah. That's awesome."

Ember had also de-transformed and took a seat on the far left of the 3-seater bench. Grace sat down beside her. A portion of the wall opposite the bench slid up, revealing a plasma screen TV. Grace was beginning to like the training room. A video began to play.

"Ember, be sure to pay attention this time," Ryou said sternly as he sat in the seat next to Grace.

"Yeah, yeah," Ember replied. Grace was too enthralled by the big TV to notice Ryou's position had changed.

"This footage is from about four and a half years ago," Ryou explained. "They may look different now."

On the screen, an alien with purple hair and eyes was shown doing various activities: dropping something into a body of water, fighting with various Mews, waving a fan that made lightning bolts. "This is Pai," Ryou said in a teacher-like voice. "He is intelligent and systematic. He attacks with his Sky Thunder Fan. He does not tend to show mercy."

The screen changed to a black-haired, blue-eyed alien in a blue coat. He swung a sword at the ground, creating a rift in the earth. "That was Deep Blue," Ryou supplied. "He was the most powerful, but he was killed by Mew Mew Strawberry and her boyfriend."

As the screen changed again, Ryou explained, "This is who Deep Blue was before his full manifestation." A blonde-haired alien with slightly different blue eyes in the same coat was shown either assisting the pink Mew Mew or fighting a certain green-haired alien whom Ember had seen before. "He called himself the Blue Knight, and ironically saved Mew Strawberry's life on more than one occasion. Even if an alien seems friendly, it could likely be a similar circumstance. Expect betrayal."

The screen showed an alien with brown hair who was obviously still a child. He was mostly shown fighting with a yellow Mew Mew around the same age in various childish ways: rolling on the ground, banging each other on the head, and sticking out his tongue at her. There were also pictures of him with plant and insect Chimeras. There was one scene in which he appeared to be having a verbal argument with the pink Mew. "This is Taruto. He is childish and views fighting as a game to win. According to Mew Pudding, he has occasionally shown mercy."

The screen at last switched to the green-haired, yellow-eyed alien Lone Wolf had fought. From what she could tell, he was taller now and seemed slightly thinner. "This is Kisshu," Ryou's voice took on a disgusted tone. "He is unpredictable," a scene showed him trying the kiss the pink Mew, the next showed him trying to kill her. "Manipulative," the screen showed him winking into the camera, apparently very pleased with himself for having found it. "And he has a tendency to be somewhat of a stalker." Several scenes showed him watching a girl and at times, forcing himself on her. But in every scene it was the same girl.

Lone Wolf thought, _"Only somewhat?"_

The audio began and there were English subtitles for his Japanese words.

"Be mine, or he dies."

"Cripes. If you wanted a kiss you could have just asked, nekomimi-chan."

"It's troublesome to be with you if four others show up at the same time."

"She's mine."

"SHE'S MINE!"

"Become mine, OR I'LL KILL YOU!"

Ember blinked at that last one. _"And now he's going to stalk __**me**__? Oh spaz…"_

"However," Ryou stared at the screen, "his unpredictability can sometimes work in our favor. Observe." Several scenes played of the pink Mew about to be strangled/smashed/eaten by various Chimera Animas, but Kisshu called them off at the last second. Then the scene changed to him holding a sword to Deep Blue's jugular, in monologue about the girl he loved and how he wasn't going to let her be killed. "He's a wild card," Ryou summed up, "but there are certain advantages to being his 'favorite toy'."

"_I don't understand," _thought Ember. _"Is he telling me to go for it? But that's just so weird! It's so wrong… I already have a boyfriend!"_

The screen went black. "So," Ryou finished, "those are the aliens. Now I want Ember patrolling the streets in her human form. Grace, you'll stay here for ability exploration and combat training."

"Okay," Grace shrugged. "My parents don't expect me home until five."

* * *

Ember walked north on 3rd Street, heading for the river. She'd been walking around for two hours to no avail. Sighing, she sat down on a bench outside the Yum Center and thought about how big Louisville was. And it apparently was a small city. She couldn't imagine how exhausted she'd be if she had to protect some place like New York.

"Ember? What are you doing here?" the familiar voice was surprised, but curious.

"Josué?" Ember was truly excited to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first," he flirted. What to do? She couldn't exactly tell him, _"Oh, I'm just a super heroine patrolling the streets in case of an alien attack."_

"Oh, I'm just… on a walk," she replied. It wasn't a lie. She had been walking for about an hour. "I got tired and saw this bench. You?"

"Returning a client's laptop," he nodded toward the convention center.

"Oh, okay," Ember just bobbed her head in a daze. She was more than a little preoccupied with the whole being-a-superhero-who-might-very-well-have-an-alien-stalker-now thing. So much so in fact, that she missed his next question. "I'm sorry? You'll have to repeat that," she blinked at him when she had realized that he'd spoken.

"I said, 'Are you free now?'" he asked again.

"Sort of," she answered hesitantly.

"So, do you want to walk over to 4th St. Live with me?" he asked it carefully, like he was actually scared of being turned down. She watched how the sun shined in his golden hair and thought any girl who would turn him down was crazy.

"Yeah, sure," she tried, and failed, to sound nonchalant.

Josué smiled. "Okay. Let's go." He rose from his seat and held out his hand to help Ember to her feet. Once she was standing, he didn't let go.

* * *

Around noon, Kisshu decided to do a little studying on the local area. After five minutes on the crystal ball computer, he had discovered that a popular landmark for this city was a place known as "4th St. Live". What do you do to a landmark in a place you are planning to take over? You destroy it, of course.

* * *

Ember's stomach growled on the walk over, so Josué had talked her into lunch at T.G.I. Friday's. They were already on the right street anyway. They had just finished the jalapeño popper appetizer when Ember got a text from Grace. – "Ryou's computer just picked up a massive energy reading on 4th St. Live. We need to be there asap. I'm nervous. I'm not sure if I can save the world. :/" –

Ember brought her hand to her forehead in distress thinking, "_Oh no. He really is stalking me."_ She looked across the table at Josué.

"What?" his perpetually happy voice asked.

"I'm sorry," Ember apologized and tried to convince herself that she wouldn't be lying to him. "My friend Grace just texted me with this serious emotional issue, and I have to go." This technically was not a lie. Grace probably was spazzing and would really need her help. "It's pretty bad, and what kind of friend would I be if I wasn't there to support her?" Also true. Anyone would freak if they found out they were a Mew Mew in the morning and had to fight aliens that afternoon. Oh yeah, and she'd just found out that aliens were real. It was pretty bad…

"Oh, of course," Josué looked disappointed but nodded in sympathy.

"Thanks so much for being so understanding," she tossed in with a smile as she rose from the booth. He'd be happy if she smiled.

Sure enough… "No. It's no problem, don't worry about it," he grinned from ear to ear.

"Alright cool." Smile. "So I'll see you at school on Monday?"

"Yup," he chuckled. "Where else would I be?"

"Thanks again, bye!" Ember walked out the door…

* * *

To an unexpected sight. A Chimera Anima roared, and flames spit from its mouth. It was four times the size of the one she fought last night, and it was orange with black stripes. Was it… a tiger? _"Where did the aliens get a tiger?"_

Ember looked around for a place to transform. This street was busy (even if most of the people were running for their lives) and she wasn't about to expose her secret identity to the world. Luckily, someone had left their beat up Chevy Travolta unlocked. She jumped inside and let Lone Wolf take over. When she stepped out, she was dressed in white from head to toe.

Running at the Chimera Anima, Lone Wolf leapt into the air, calling her staff. She was able to smack it on the shoulder. It didn't even blink. It merely turned and swatted her out of the air, pinning her beneath its giant paw. She heard a laugh and looked up. Kisshu stood before her, a smug look on his face. "That was so easy," he remarked, looking down at her. "I didn't even have to make a strong Chimera. You really are a rookie Mew Mew." He laughed again, then bent down and grabbed her chin. "You'll make a cute enough toy." She trembled, and he added, "That's right little Mew Mew, I'm your master now. You have to do whatever I say."

Lone Wolf steeled her nerves and moaned, "We'll just see about that." Kisshu chuckled at her, bemused.

As if to prove Lone Wolf's point, a voice shouted from the top of a nearby building, "Grande jeté!" Quick as lightening, a glowing orange ribbon slapped the ground close enough to cause both Kisshu and the Chimera to jump. Backing off to examine the interference, Kisshu clenched both his teeth and his fist in frustration. No longer pinned down by the Chimera Anima, Lone Wolf stood up.

From the top of the building, a graceful figure in point shoes and a tutu descended on a pair of feathery wings. "Mew En Pointe!" Lone Wolf exclaimed gladly.

"Wolf," En Pointe greeted with a calmness that Grace never would've had in such a circumstance. "Shall we get to work?" a sweet yet somehow menacing smile lit up her face.

"En Pointe?" Lone Wolf asked, unsure that this was the girl who had fainted under Ryou's gaze just hours before. But… she wasn't going to complain. "Okay, let's do it! Which do you want?"

"Ryou indicated my weapon was better suited for Chimeras, so I shall choose that one."

"Of course you do… No one wants to fight stalker face," Lone rolled her eyes. En Pointe just smiled sweetly.

"Hey! I can hear you!" Kisshu yelled. And then calling for his sai, he lunged at Lone Wolf.

En Pointe took this moment to strike out at the Chimera. "Plié!" The Anima was wounded enough to let out a blast of flame. "Wolf!" she called out.

Lone Wolf looked up and saw the flames spewing from the monster's mouth. Kisshu's face was a foot away from hers. She raised her hand, flicked her wrist and that foot of space was filled with broiling hot fire. Kisshu stopped dead in his flight path as En Pointe leapt into the air, hovering on white wings.

The swan mew began to spin faster and faster. If she wasn't a special Mew, meant for such spinning, she may have passed out from lack of oxygen due to the speed at which she twirled. The orange ribbon danced above her head. She let one foot fly out behind her as her body leaned forward, arm still spinning the ribbon above her head. Then she snapped straight up on her toes, raising her right ankle directly in front of her left knee, still twirling herself and the ribbon. She shouted, "Pirouette!" and let the ribbon fly towards the Chimera like a whip. Upon being struck by the orange glow, the Chimera dissolved into a jellyfish and a Burmese tiger. Lone Wolf sent a burst of flame in the parasite's direction and it was incinerated immediately.

Kisshu was shocked by the strength of the new team member. The two were obviously close, and he was outnumbered. Without thinking about where to go, he teleported to anywhere that was _away_, leaving his subconscious to choose the destination.

"Okay…" Lone Wolf looked at the tiger. "Now what do we do with _this_?"


	5. Bittersweet Strawberry

**Author:**** Okay, this chapter is really short. But when you see what happens, I think you'll understand why I devoted an entire chapter especially to this.**

"Kisshu?" squeaked a female voice in Japanese. "What the heck are you doing in my room?"

His mind switched languages with ease, but he couldn't comprehend the scenario. "Huh?" He looked in the direction of the voice. A guy with dark skin and black hair had his back to him, and peering over this guy's shoulder was a girl with brown eyes and dark auburn hair pulled back into two pigtails, which were tied off with red ribbons. "I – Ichigo?"

"Urgh! Mew Mew Strawberry, metamorph-"

"Wait!" Kisshu splayed his hands and realized he was sitting on the foot of her bed. He began to back away from where Ichigo Momomiya and Masaya Aoyama sat at the bed's head.

"You fool!" Masaya grumbled, turning around. "What do you want now?"

"N- N- Nothing," Kisshu stuttered. This was an extremely awkward situation. (Unknown to Kisshu, the couple had been making out prior to his appearance.) He backed up so far, he was about to fall off the edge of the bed.

"Then what are you doing here?" this came from Ichigo.

"Umm…" Kisshu looked up at the ceiling. _"Why did my subconscious choose this place? I mean, of all the places on Earth, why…?"_

"Well?" Ichigo demanded. He had never seen her so angry (which was saying something because he had made her mad _a lot._) It made him jump, and he fell off the bed, but managed to catch himself by levitating before he hit the ground. This simple act seemed to put the two lovers on edge even more, and Kisshu couldn't figure out why.

Well, his subconscious had brought him here. He would let it answer their questions. "I'm here to apologize," and no sooner had Kisshu said it than he realized it was true. He had spent the past four years brooding on this, and she obviously still didn't want him. Maybe it was time to give up, time to seek some forgiveness, if that was possible. Then maybe, just maybe, he could return to himself. He looked down at the floor. It was still awkward. Perhaps even more so now that they were staring at him like… well, like he was from outer space.

"I don't believe him," Masaya crossed his arm in front of Ichigo protectively.

Well, if they already thought he was lying, why not play with the truth a little? Or a lot? "It's not as if we're enemies anymore," Kisshu began. "I guess I actually owe you guys my life, too. Especially you, Aoyama." Masaya lowered his arm, and Ichigo was frozen stiff in shock over Kisshu's words. "You got her fair and square, Aoyama Masaya," Kisshu continued. "I shouldn't have tried to force her to change her decision. And you, Momomiya-san," he turned to Ichigo. "You told me over and over how you felt about him – how you didn't feel about me – and I didn't listen. I've since learned that no matter how much you care about someone, you can't force them to return those feelings. So… I'm sorry I tried." He felt like he was about to cry as the reality of truly letting Ichigo go – not just in the physical world, but in his heart as well – finally set in. He clenched his teeth and fists, squeezing his eyes together tightly and facing the floor. He swallowed over and over, until he was finally able to speak. "Well, I guess I'll be going now." He turned around, believing he wouldn't be able to leave if he was looking at her. The air around him began to shiver.

"Kisshu, wait!" Ichigo called, and he looked at her over his shoulder. "Thank you…" her voice quivered, and she smiled gently at him. He smiled back in the same gentle way, the smile of gratitude, the smile of a bittersweet good-bye. And then he was gone, a current of air rippling where he had once stood.

* * *

Back in the green haze of their headquarters, Kisshu relaxed against a pillar. He had done it. He had finally let her go. It had hurt a few hours ago, when her face was right in front of him. But now that it was over, all that he felt… was free. It was a calm accord between his head and his heart that hadn't existed for the past four years. Finally, the urge to stab something just for the heck of it was gone. And for the first time in six months, Kisshu actually felt like sleeping. There was no more tension, no more complications, no longer a need for a replacement toy. This was just a mission with no emotional ties. Resting was now possible. With a serene sigh, he teleported to his room. As he lay down in his bed, he felt some sort of internal peace wash over him. _"Welcome back,"_ he told it. Soon he was fast asleep.


	6. Chimera Zoo

Ember watched as En Pointe thrashed the training dummy with her ribbon over and over again. (They had learned the weapon was constantly surging with a strange form of sound energy, apparently caused by En Pointe's ability to control sound waves.) It had been a few days since the battle and now Grace understood that, "Do you want to hang out at my place later?" really meant, "Let's go practice our battle skills in case of an alien attack."

Even though En Pointe's ribbon kept hitting the dummy repeatedly, it never possessed enough force to leave more than a small dent on the mannequin's wooden surface. Grace furrowed her brow in confusion and undid her transformation. She didn't understand. She had destroyed that Chimera Anima with only three shots in the last battle. Why was this taking so long? She went to get a drink of water from the secret training room refrigerator (another thing that came out of the wall).

"You're wondering why it's not working, aren't you?" Ember asked her.

"Yes," Grace admitted.

"You're thinking about it too much, Grace. Let En Pointe take over with your weapon and your ability, and it will come naturally like before. I have to do that with Lone Wolf, so I see no reason why it wouldn't be the same for you."

"What exactly do you mean?" the redhead inquired.

"Well… There's you, and then there's En Pointe. It's like two similar, yet separate entities. Sort of like… a split in your mind because of the splice in your DNA. It's all very complicated. But Ryou says the two mindsets will merge into one eventually if your Mew form is used often enough. But until that happens, you'll fight better if you release control to your other mindset," Ember explained.

"I guess that makes sense… in a creepy multiple-personality syndrome kind of way," Grace looked at her friend with a small amount of apprehension, but did as requested of her. She transformed again and let the other consciousness in the back of her mind take over. Then shy, awkward Grace Swann was no more. Calm, collected, and slightly sarcastic En Pointe had taken her place. She stretched forth with the ribbon, striking the practice dummy. This time the wooden figure snapped in half at the waist, the top half of its body hitting the floor with a thud.

Ember stared, wide-eyed. "Dang! You ought to try that on Kisshu next battle." She let out a low, impressed whistle.

At that moment, Ryou raced into the room. "Girls! My computer is picking up a massive energy reading at the Louisville Zoo. Go check it out immediately!" En Pointe was already out the door as Ember transformed.

Mew En Pointe and Mew Lone Wolf were in the sky in no time, the trumpeter swan carrying the arctic wolf the whole way.

When they reached the zoo, there were three Chimeras competing for their attention. If you counted Kisshu, they were outnumbered two-to-one. The green-haired alien hovered in midair, looking down on the Wild Mews.

"You'll have to forgive my momentary lapse in good judgment, Mew Lone Wolf, but I've realized I'm too old to be playing with toys. As I don't want this toy anymore, I believe I'll just get rid of it," he said with an evil smirk. "Chimera Animas, attack."

With these words, the monsters lunged. One looked like a snake with arms, and it had spiky plates coming out of its spine. It opened its mouth, and huge fangs spit out a deadly strong acid that made the concrete sizzle. Another was like a huge, canine creature. It had black, matted fur and red eyes. Each of its claws was four feet long, and its fangs resembled those of a saber-toothed tiger. It howled in despair and the sound sent Lone Wolf sprawling across the ground. The last one was like a huge lion, but its body was striped red and white. Its head was a huge fish with big eyes and weird fins and the Anima squirted water from its mouth.

"_A… lionfish? Haha. Very funny," _Ember thought to herself in a very sarcastic manner. "So, what are we up against here?" she asked her more observant friend.

"It appears to be one with water abilities there, and that one spits acid. The black one controls sound."

"Okay… So let's try to bait the snake and the fish against each other. Water and acid don't mix without one of them losing," Lone Wolf replied.

"Alright, and the sound one?"

"No idea," Ember replied honestly. Then Lone Wolf took over completely in her mind. "Let's just beat these things!" She took out her precious lighter and soon held a flame in the palm of her hand. "En Pointe, you take the fish. Water and fire don't mix without one of them losing either."

"Sure thing," and En Pointe soared toward the lionfish Chimera.

Lone Wolf hit the snake in the side with a fireball and ran. En Pointe struck the lionfish with her ribbon and flew in the opposite direction. She swooped down and grabbed Lone Wolf as both Animas took aim. The snake spit and the fish squirted, and Lone Wolf and En Pointe rose up into the sky, out of reach of the attacks. The water hit the snake in the face. The acid fell on the lionfish's left paw. And then the two Chimeras were fighting one another, oblivious to their former enemy.

"Cool. Now let's kill the dog thing," Lone Wolf smirked. Her yellow eyes met Kisshu's as if to say, _"Is that the best you can do?"_

A fireball launched at the head of the black Chimera Anima. Then Lone Wolf dropped from En Pointe's arms and landed on the ground, sending balls of orange flame at the creature in rapid fire. The Chimera roared and turned to look at her.

"Grande jeté! Plié! Pirouette!" shouted En Pointe, each dance move present in her attacks. One more fireball from Lone Wolf, and the parasite separated from an Australian dingo. The final flames turned the parasite into a pile of ashes.

"One down," panted Lone Wolf. Then she turned back to where the others were fighting. "Two more to go."

At that moment, the snake Chimera vomited forth a thick stream of acid. It hit the lionfish and burned it to a crisp. The parasite left its host, and a scorched little fish lay dead on the ground. Lone Wolf made the parasite as equally scorched and dead with a blue fireball.

"Make that two down, and one to go," she corrected with a smirk. Inside, she was laughing. _"Take that, you freaky pervert! How dare you refer to me as your toy, and how dare you say you don't want me anymore. You would be __**lucky**__ to land a girl like me, you weirdo."_

She pulled out the butane torch again and lit her hand afire. "En Pointe, distract it," Wolf's voice was dead serious.

En Pointe blinked in surprise at her tone, but did as she was asked. "Plié!" the ribbon wrapped itself around one of the snake's arms and En Pointe pulled. The snake hissed and spit, En Pointe barely managing to dodge the liquid ammo in time. The snake spit again, and suddenly En Pointe was engaged in a game of dodge the venom. All the while, Lone Wolf focused on her fireball, urging it to grow.

When the sphere of heat was the size of her arm span, she used her mind to move it forward into her palms. Lone Wolf yelled, "En Pointe, hit the skies!" and the swan girl tore upward into the clouds, the dropped ribbon vanishing from the Anima's arm.

Kisshu watched with fascination. He could still win this fight if he tried hard enough. But somehow, he was too impressed by their strategy to move. The Tokyo Mews had rarely ever practiced any sort of logic and just chased the Chimera Animas around in a circle, but these two actually _planned_ things. Also, he was slightly intimidated by the ball of fire which Lone Wolf held. It resembled a small sun.

Lone Wolf burst forth with a scream of concentration. It was deep and gruff, like the growl of a wolf. And when that scream burst forth, so did the fireball. It erupted in a cloud of smoldering heat, spreading all over the Chimera's body. The snake monster tried one last attempt at acid spitting, but came up short of its target.

In only a few seconds, the strength of the flames had returned the Anima to its pre-parasitic stage. And then, as the power of the fire had not been reduced, it devoured both the snake and the parasite, leaving behind nothing but ashes. With a motion of her hands, much like a conductor ending a symphony, Lone Wolf put the fire out. She glared up at Kisshu, challenging him. The alien was staring back at her, enraptured.

En Pointe was soaring through the clouds, watching everything. The feeling of victory was incredible. But was this really enough? The Chimeras were gone, but the enemy was not. She made a decision, and dove.

"I've changed my mind," Kisshu smirked at Lone. "You can't replace my old toy, but that doesn't mean playing with you won't be equally as fun. You _will_ be mine, okaminomimi-chan." (Wolf ear girl)

Suddenly, a streak of creamy white feathers slammed him into the ground. "Swan Dive," En Pointe's voice was stoic and steady. Lone Wolf walked over to where her beautiful friend straddled the freak from outer space.

"Very nice, En Pointe; it wasn't exactly part of the strategy, but I don't see anything wrong with a pre-emptive strike." Then she looked at Kisshu. "You've got it wrong, alien boy. It appears _you_ are _mine_."

Kisshu chuckled, "Not just yet, she-wolf." And then his sai appeared in his hands. But before he could move, Lone Wolf bent and pinned one arm to the ground, and En Pointe did the same.

Suddenly, a little endorphin rush caused by the situation's gravity returned Ember and Grace to their normal mindsets, though their bodies were still in Mew form. "Okay… now what?" Grace asked.

"Ryou really should have fixed us up with some sort of containment unit, or at least a pair of handcuffs," Ember thought aloud.

"So, what do we do? Just let him go?" Grace asked.

Kisshu was about to breathe a sigh of relief, until Ember began, "No… I know! En Pointe, your ribbon! We can tie him up with that."

"Okay, but it will probably hurt," the swan mew winced in sympathy.

"Duh. That's the point!" Ember replied.

"What about his sword thingies?"

"Well, he'll drop them of course," Ember pinned Kisshu's golden gaze with her own, "or I'll burn his arms off."

Kisshu's eyes grew wide. _"She's probably bluffing, but do I really want to take that chance?"_ His sai disintegrated into thin air.

"Good boy," and with a smirk, both Lone Wolf and Ember controlled her mind for a moment.

"Um… How can I tie him up while sitting on him?" asked Grace, confusion in her face.

"Don't worry, I'll hold him," Lone Wolf assured. She repositioned herself so that her hands pushed down firmly on Kisshu's shoulders, her face hovering over his, the rest of her body beyond the top of his head. It was then that Kisshu got an idea, and Lone Wolf was confused a bit when he didn't struggle.

En Pointe was wrapping Kisshu's legs with her ribbon, making her way up to his waist. He was wincing the whole time, and it looked like one wrong move would set him screaming. When En Pointe had finished wrapping him up, his arms bound to his sides, he looked like a glowing alien mummy. He was wrapped all the way up to his shoulders. The expression on his face told of pain and annoyance.

"Alright, Wolf. Now what do we do?" Grace smiled at her friend in a mischievous manner as her mind melded with her other conscious.

"I guess… just grab him," Ember replied, still firmly gripping the top of his shoulders around his clavicle area. So, En Pointe moved down and gripped Kisshu's ankles. It was only after she did this that Kisshu smirked and Ember realized her mistake.

Suddenly, they were someplace else. Lone Wolf growled; a low, guttural noise that sounded positively feral. En Pointe even let out a scared swan squeak. This place was an endless haze of green fog, broken only here and there by a marble pillar.

Kisshu's sai reappeared in his hands again and sliced through En Pointe's ribbon like a hot sickle through butter. He stood and smirked, apparently very pleased with himself. "No, it was like I said," he corrected Lone Wolf's earlier statement. "You're mine, okamino-chan." (Wolf girl)


	7. The Secret of the Kiss

"Kisshu, what did you do?" threatened Pai. His unbreaking glare frightened Grace.

"Simple," Kisshu smirked. "I merely lulled them into a false security and trapped them."

Lone Wolf sat there on her knees, staring at her hands and growling in some sort of feral, canine language that only she or an actual canine could comprehend. En Pointe also stared at her hands, but she was silent and the expression on her face told of defeat rather than anger.

"And you brought them here?" Pai raised an eyebrow at Kisshu.

"Of course," the green-haired teenager replied. "It's the only place from which they can't escape."

Ember knew some Spanish from two years of classes, so she replied to his latter comment in a language she assumed he wouldn't understand. "Según a tú,"(according to you) the reply was more of a growl.

"Sí," (yes) Kisshu glanced at her. "Y soy correctamente." (And I'm correct.)

Wolf's yellow eyes went wide, but she recovered just as quickly. "¿Verdad?" (Is that so?) She glared up at Kisshu with determination on her face. _"This small snare will not ruin my destiny. I will not allow it," _she reassured herself. _"I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!"_

Then she looked across at En Pointe. Now, these two girls were _nerds._ They had been friends for the past two years, and were currently taking an AP Chemistry class together. As they had found science interesting, they had made up their own little nerdy "code" based on certain scientific principles. Who knew that one day it would have a practical application?

"En Pointe, enthalpy or entropy?" Ember asked her. (Loose translation: action or distraction?)Pai recognized the scientific terms for heat and chaos, but couldn't exactly understand the context of use.

"Oh, it doesn't matter to me," Grace smiled, ever polite.

Lone Wolf had no patience for manners. "Hurry up and pick one or I'll do the whole Delta G myself!" (Hurry up and decide, or I'll do both and a little extra.) Pai was still confused.

"Umm…" En Pointe was a little surprised and made her decision at random. "I'll take entropy, I guess." (I'll distract them.)

"Alright," Lone Wolf felt like howling, but suppressed the urge. "Let's blow this exothermic reaction!" (Let's do this!)

Kisshu looked to Pai for translation. The purple-haired alien just stood there with a look on his face that clearly said, _"What the heck?"_

They soon found out when the air burst into a chaos of cacophonous noise, courtesy of En Pointe. This loud sound was especially hard on the aliens' sensitive ears. As they covered their ears in agony, Lone Wolf moved fast.

She had her lighter out and a flame in her hand, getting up to run towards a crystal-ball looking object on a pedestal. She remembered from a course on alien technology (which Ryou had given her two days prior as punishment for not paying attention in Alien 101 the first time) that this thing was their computer. According to Masha, a tiny robot that had once been captured by the aliens and hacked their computer database, this thing was called a Global Reader (or Globe Ball Reader, either way worked).

En Pointe saw that her friend was ready and cut the background music. Lone Wolf waited for their eardrums to recover. She knew they had when Pai began to make a beeline toward her.

"Hold it," she shouted, "or the Global Reader gets it!" She held up a ball of fire over the glass orb in a threatening manner. "And don't think I can't make it hot enough to melt glass," she growled and made the flames dance a little higher, to prove her point. Pai stopped with a stricken expression on his face. _"So this machine is important to him, is it?"_

It was time for the ultimatum. Lone Wolf's eyes met Pai's. "Purple guy," he frowned at the name, but she kept going, "you're going to take En Pointe to the zenith of the Kennedy Bridge, or I'm going to roast your out of this world computer. You got that?" He just stared at her, so she repeated herself, "Do you understand?"

Pai gave a slow, almost imperceptible nod. Turning to Kisshu, he murmured, "Baka anata," (you fool) and then walked over to where En Pointe was standing. He put his hand on her shoulder, and then they were gone in a ripple of air.

"Okamino," (wolf) Kisshu began, "that was not very wise." He glared at her, convinced that this was a bluff. And if it wasn't, he didn't really care about Pai's precious computer. He slowly walked over to her, his stiff posture and brisk stride telling her that he meant business.

Lone Wolf decided to use her body language in order to throw him off. She relaxed her stance and met his eyes. He started thinking, _"Why is she relaxing at my approach? If we're enemies, she should be preparing herself for a fight. Perhaps… Maybe… Does she find me attractive? Well, that wouldn't be surprising, considering the amount of girls chasing me back home." _Those girls didn't interest him. Kisshu had always leaned towards more exotic tastes. It was a terrible weakness, being turned on by the enemy.

And he didn't realize that she was taking advantage of it until she grabbed his right ear with her left hand and yanked it toward her lips. She whispered, "Here's how it's going to be, broccoli head. I know you don't give a crap about this hunk of glass. But you feel different about your face, no?" The fire in her right hand moved closer to his left ear, and he tried to pull away, but the sensitive nerves and tight grip she had on his other ear sent up a painful protest. "Take me out of here and back to Louisville, or I'll deform you."

He frowned at her. In his opinion, his looks were his best feature. He didn't want to lose them. "Ksuh! I lost." (D*mn! I lost.) His hands grabbed her hips and pulled her toward himself forcefully. It shocked her, and the flames in her hand sputtered out. The reaction didn't satisfy him, so he decided to play with her a bit more. He pressed his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes, seeing the fear and desperation that was hidden away in her soul. But among such grief, there was still hope, even as she stared into the eyes of enemy. There was determination, even as her foe had her in his grasp. He found himself somewhat awestruck by it. Humans were beautiful fools. He called out to his ally in their native language, "Taruto, make sure Gentiel doesn't hear about this."

The green haze blurred at the edges of his vision, but her yellow eyes were still as clear as ever. And then there was brown, grey, and black. Dirt, concrete, asphalt, and Ember recognized the riverside park, the site of her first date with Josué.

She backed out of Kisshu's entirely too intimate embrace, or at least tried to. But he held her fast, not letting her go. She looked at him suspiciously.

"What you want?" she asked him, voice hard and unyielding.

He was thinking, _"A kiss."_ He said, "Nothing." He knew better than get into something like this again. Releasing her, he took two steps back before vanishing.

A kiss. It was the reason he had lost his mind. Among his kind, a kiss created a strong and nearly unbreakable bond. A kiss was a practical guarantee of a lifetime of love. Even among strangers and the occasional arranged marriage, if neither had any attraction toward the other, the Bond would force the attraction and it would stay until death among normal circumstances.

Kisshu had been unaware of the difference among humans. He had stolen Ichigo's first kiss, and in so doing thought he had also stolen her heart. But a sinking realization of the opposite had driven him mad. Ichigo did not love him, she hated him. Because of this hatred, and because of their enmity, it was the desire of his selfish mind to take revenge and destroy her. But his heart, influenced by the bond of the kiss, would not allow it. Whenever he was so close to wiping her out, it screamed, "NO!" and his body would act on its own accord to save her. He was at a constant war with himself, and logic was rapidly losing to his biology. The bond had taken him so far as to _die_ for her, and still it was an unrequited love. That fact had torn him apart inside.

The bond was broken when he died, but it took him three years to fully realize this. Once he saw her face again after the years of separation, he knew. He had loved Ichigo, and he would never forget that, but the time had come to count his loss and start anew. The time had come to apologize. Their story had ended, and it was time to start a new one.

Kisshu sat in a park in Anchorage, reflecting on his past with the nekomimi. It had taken him a long time to recover from that. _"I won't put myself through that again. I refuse. I'll just have to get over my exotic preferences. I need someone to love me back."_


	8. Impossible Things

The next morning, Ember got dressed. She had a date with Josué planned for that afternoon and hummed a little melody as she pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. Normally she would let it hang freely in waves that were natural for her hair type, but today she had so much happy energy that she needed to do something with her hands. Ember had so much happy energy that instead of sitting in front of the mirror, she stood. This vast amount of energy seemed to come from thinking about her date; a date with which she was so preoccupied that she didn't feel the set of yellow eyes on her.

* * *

Kisshu's mission had received approval from Gentiel. He now floated outside her window, invisibility shield on. She seemed to be preparing for something, and his alien hearing told him that whatever it was, it was a happy occasion.

As she rushed about her room, searching for something or other, he watched her. He remembered the day before, the moment when he had looked in her eyes. The eyes that had told him of their need of him, but had also stung with a strong defiance of anything that he had wanted; these were the eyes that had pierced into his very soul. And now they refused to leave, even if they had stopped looking at him a long time ago.

His job was to convince her to switch sides. Kisshu had a feeling that this mission would be anything but easy.

* * *

Josué pulled up in his Ford Mustang, got out of the car, and walked up to the door. Ryou opened it and frowned, but didn't say anything. Keiichiro smiled and nodded at him from the other side of the room as he crossed the threshold.

"Ember," Ryou yelled up the stairs, "your baka is here!" Ryou did not like Ember having a boyfriend. Ichigo had been too distracted by Masaya on several missions to perform effectively, and he didn't want Ember to be the same way with this guy.

"Her what?" Josué frowned in confusion. Keiichiro laughed gently, more because of Josué's facial expression than Ryou's insult.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" shouted Ember as she pounded down the steps. "And Ryou, the baka here is you."

"Hmph," Ryou muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and leaving the room.

This was the first time Josué had been to her house. He looked at Ember; wearing a red sweater and black slacks, her long auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. He had never seen her dress so formally before and was pleasantly surprised at the contrast from her normal T-shirt and jeans wardrobe.

She was the nice girl that most people considered a loser. In all honesty, Josué himself thought this too. But dating Ember had done a lot for his popularity with the ladies, who now saw him as a princely figure reaching out to the lonely little Cinderella. They wouldn't dare mess with Cinderella's happiness, lest they be dubbed evil stepsisters. Josué didn't really care for Ember, but she was the girl who kept up his amiable image. This kept him popular, which kept him satisfied.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked him with a smile, grabbing her coat.

"Sure," he nodded. She was pretty enough. She would do for now.

Outside, he opened the door to the car for her. As the Mustang pulled out of their driveway, an invisible body sat itself on the roof.

"So where are we going?" she asked him.

"It's a surprise," he winked at her, smiling. She would be happy if he smiled. Sure enough…

"Okay, yay! I like surprises," she grinned. Josué smirked to himself. Girls were so easy to figure out.

* * *

Ember laughed when she saw their destination.

"What? Is something wrong with the zoo?" Josué asked gently.

"Oh no, nothing," she grinned. "I just have a kind of an inside joke with a friend of mine." Or, she would after she told Grace about this. A date at the same place of her previous battle; that was kind of funny.

When the couple pushed their way through the turnstiles, they were unaware of the alien that hovered over them, still protected by his bubble of invisibility. When Ember pretended to shiver to get Josué to wrap his arm around her, neither teen noticed the unseen being among them. When they shared their first kiss at the highest lookout in the tiger exhibit, they were blissfully ignorant of the frowning face that stared at them from the other side of the glass.

* * *

Kisshu didn't know why, but he really didn't like this guy. Something about his body language was off. He watched the couple gawking at the giraffes as he lounged in a tree inside the exhibit. He was supposed to be watching for data on how to get her to change factions, but following them around was boring. He wanted to have fun.

Placing his left hand in front of him, palm up, he spawned a parasite. Tossing it gently in the direction of the animals, he watched the jellyfish bob and weave. On the ground was a small finch, pecking at the hard winter dirt. Its target chosen, the parasite enveloped the bird in a burst of light.

Up rose a monster with razor-sharp feathers and a toothed beak. The giraffes panicked and scattered. The Chimera Anima swung a wing and hit Josué on the head. Passing out, the boy collapsed on top of Ember. It was winter, so not many people were at the zoo today, and those that were mostly stayed at the indoor attractions. Noting this and seeing that no one else was around, she transformed and used her Mew strength to shove her unconscious boyfriend from her body. She leapt up just in time to see Kisshu drop his field of invisibility.

"Konichiwa, okaminomimi-chan!" (Hello wolf ear girl) grinned the alien. Her lighter was out and a fireball in the palm of her hand in the time it took him to blink. The green-haired villain was alarmed at the rate at which the flames grew.

Lone Wolf was **mad.** _"So he decided to just attack the zoo again today? Don't these people ever rest?"_ The fire grew with her rising anger. She screamed rather loudly, "YOU RUINED MY DATE!" Launching the fireball at the Cyniclon, she kept only a small flame.

Kisshu was too shocked to move out of the way. At the last moment, his sai appeared and blocked the fire by crossing into an X over his face, keeping the alien from being roasted alive.

Lone Wolf screamed again, this time at the Chimera Anima. "YOU HURT MY BOYFRIEND! Well, bird-thing, since I am part wolf it is entirely okay for me to say that when I'm angry, I'm a b*tch!" Balls of flame hurled at the Chimera faster than Kisshu thought it was possible for her to attack. The parasite lost its hold on its host and a frightened bird flew away as a sphere of fire engulfed the cure to Kisshu's boredom. When her fiery golden eyes glared at him in anger, Kisshu followed the bird's example.

* * *

Demanifesting, Ember looked at Josué. He didn't seem to be hurt, and he wasn't bleeding or anything. The girl had dragged him over to a bench, and now they both sat here as she waited for his eyes to open. She kissed him on the cheek, then on the lips. His eyelids parted in a startled manner, and she found herself staring into a sea of brilliant blue. She grinned softly. "I see you finally woke up. Took you long enough."

"There was some kind of monster. It hit me over the head, I…" he sputtered.

"You were asleep." Not a lie. "Did you have a nightmare or something?" That was a question. "I've been sitting here, waiting for you to wake up." That was also true.

"Nightmare? I guess I did… Oh no, I fell asleep?" he bit his lip regretfully.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go," Ember said, feeling a little guilty. "You're awake now." He nodded, and together they left the zoo.

* * *

Kisshu watched her again, later that evening. This girl had done the impossible thing of scaring him. He wondered what other impossible things she could do. His first thought would have made anyone else blush, but Kisshu merely decided that was fun to think about, so he pondered on it a bit more. The next idea that came into his head scared him. What if this little mew, along with her bird friend, could actually win?

But there was one thought scarier still, and it never occurred to him. What if this wolf girl could convince _him_ to switch sides? But that, of course, was impossible.


	9. Spring Break?

For the next few months, not a lot outside of Ember's routine changed: school, training, fighting aliens, homework, sleep if she was lucky, and a date with Josué every other weekend. She had started sitting with him at lunch too.

The most noticeable difference was that she was seeing less and less of Kisshu. Pai and Taruto were the enemies she encountered most often now. She absently wondered sometimes if their last battle had caused Kisshu to be afraid of her. That thought always produced a warm, smug feeling.

Another difference was that the Mew Mews had become public knowledge, kind of like an urban legend that some people believed and others did not. Apparently someone had seen them and had started spreading it around.

Spring break came upon her like an unexpected yet refreshing change. No school, no homework, fewer worries. Most teenagers could probably say "no worries", but most teenagers didn't have a job as a superhero that they were headed to right now. Ember did.

She leapt from rooftop to rooftop; white fuzzy wolf ears protruding from her skull, a long white wolf's tail helping her keep her balance with each jump. En Pointe flapped through the skies above her. The aliens had some audacity this time. The attack was at Churchill Downs. Ember liked horses, and the thought of one of the poor little beauties being made into a Chimera Anima was enough to make her blood boil.

The roof of the racetrack building was a little too high and far away to jump onto, so En Pointe scooped up Lone Wolf and set her gently onto the green shingles.

Lone Wolf expected to see Pai the strategist who had targeted this place for its abundance of animal hosts. She expected Taruto, the young teenager out to prove that he wasn't a child anymore. What she expected and what was, were things not in accord.

Instead of Pai or Taruto, it was Kisshu. What was more, he seemed to be focusing on a person that stood in front of his Chimera.

It was a girl. She had fiery red hair cut in a sassy bob that reached her chin. She was wearing; a black V-neck top that exposed her midriff, black skin-tight pants, and black leather knee high boots. Lone Wolf moved closer and realized it was not girl, but a… Mew Mew? For out of the top of her head peeked a pair of large, orange fox ears. And out from her pants spilled an orange, bushy tail with a white tip. Her ice blue eyes were focused.

"Who are you?" Lone Wolf asked. She turned to Kisshu. "Who is that?"

"I thought I should ask you," he replied, his interest piqued by the fact that Lone Wolf didn't know her. This put him in the mood for playing around. "Hey, foxy-chan! Okamino-chan doesn't know who you are, so that means you can get to know _me_ better." He wasn't serious. He barely thought about it, honestly. He was not prepared for her reaction.

"How dare you!" spat the fox girl, her attention finally distracted. "The thing you just called me is a derogatory term, and I will not tolerate it! And after you did this horrid thing to this poor horse, what makes you think I would want to get to know you?"

Kisshu looked a little shocked. He hadn't expected her to take it so seriously or so personally. He had expected her to ignore him and stare at the Chimera Anima like she'd been doing for the past thirty minutes.

Instead, she called, "Black Bow!" A tall, black bow appeared in her hand. It was a simple weapon with a single string. A quiver of metal arrows materialized on her back. She slid one out and loaded it into the bolt of the bow. Pulling back the string, she let it fly in Kisshu's direction. Then alien dodged the missile just in time.

He grinned wolfishly and even gave a small, unimpressed laugh. Bringing out his sai, he faced her. "Foxy-chan wants to fight," he crowed, knowing it would agitate her all the more. He would defeat this one by provoking her to rash decisions.

Lone Wolf didn't wait. She had left her date with Josué to come to this battle after cancelling twice for two other previous fights. She wasn't going to waste precious time watching a stranger and an alien argue. If anything, she was grateful that Kisshu had a distraction. The flame was in her hand, but before she could use it…

"Plié! Pirouette!" En Pointe's energy ribbon, along with a small ring of sound waves, hit the Anima and extracted the parasite. Lone Wolf roasted the alien jellyfish with the fire she held.

"Now we need to separate those two," Lone indicated Kisshu and the strange mew.

"I'll take care of her," En Pointe offered in a deceptively sweet voice.

"Of course you will," Wolf chuckled. "Let's go."

A blast of sound hit the fox mew, causing her to tumble over into a pile of hay in the stable box. En Pointe dove after her. It would be her job to convince this new mew to join them.

Lone Wolf stepped into Kisshu's line of vision. _"Why do I always get stuck with him?"_

He smirked and teleported directly in front of her, only a few inches away from her face. "Long time no see, Lone Wolf."

"I've noticed," she raised her eyebrows.

"Miss me?" he asked, chuckling.

"Maybe just a little," she smirked, hoping to throw him off.

"What?" direct hit, as his expression of playfulness changed to one of minor shock.

"Just kidding," Lone Wolf stretched out her right arm and her staff appeared in her hand. As she swung, it nearly connected with Kisshu's side, but he caught her actions in time a teleported a few feet away.

"How rude, okamino-chan. Well, if you want to play dirty, that happens to be the thing I'm best at." He lunged at her with his sai, but she blocked him with her staff. All those weeks of training had finally paid off.

Then a shout was heard, "Lightening shot!" A metal arrow was flying towards Kisshu, and it seemed to be surging with what very much looked like… well, lightening. He flew back a little, but arrow's edge grazed his arm, and he gave a painful cry.

"KSUH!" (D*MN!) He looked down at his arm. The metal had torn through one of his arms bands, and the flesh underneath was scorched from the electricity that had coursed across the arrow's surface. He glared at the fox girl, and then seemed to notice for the first time that his Chimera Anima no longer existed. It was three against one, and he wasn't about to stick around to face those odds. The air around him shivered, and then he was gone.

En Pointe spoke up. "Mew Lone Wolf, meet Mew Bolt Noir."

* * *

En Pointe and Lone Wolf brought Bolt Noir back to their headquarters and showed her around. Then they introduced her to Ryou. He looked her up and down and smiled. "She's a fox." Bolt Noir merely nodded, but Lone Wolf had lived with Ryou too long to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had meant it in more than one way, and the white mew slapped her palm to her forehead, ashamed for him because she knew he wouldn't be.

The girls all returned to their normal forms to get better acquainted. "I'm Raquel," the former Bolt Noir introduced herself. Ember immediately noticed the difference. This girl had dark blonde hair and hazel eyes, and her hair was slightly longer with a less angular cut. But the difference Ember had noticed was the personality. Bolt Noir had been very serious about everything, not even smiling. Raquel had a huge grin stretching from one side of her face to the other. That was quite a difference in mindsets this mew had going on.

"Welcome aboard the Mew Mews, Raquel," Grace replied.

"Thanks… I think," the blonde girl responded. "These monster things are all over the city. It'll be nice to have help."

"Monster things?" Ryou looked at her sideways. "Oh, you mean the Chimera Animas."

"So that's what they're called? Chimera Animas?"

"Yes," Ryou nodded. He then looked over at Ember and Grace. "You girls relax while I show her the orientation video. Grace, I want you to talk to her about it when it's over. Ember, didn't you have plans?"

"Yeah, I did," Ember mumbled, and then snapped to her senses. "I had better call Josué!" She ran upstairs to her bedroom, pulled out her phone, and hit the speed dial. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hello," he breathed into the phone.

"Hey Josué. Sorry I ran out on you, but everything's okay now, so can we meet up again?"

"Now?" she heard shuffling noises and a girl's voice in the background. "No, Ember, I don't think right now would be a good idea. Sorry."

"Oh," she sounded disappointed. She assumed the girl was the little sister he had told her about. "Stuck babysitting you little sis, huh?"

"Yeah… yeah I am," he sounded nervous for some reason.

"You could bring her along if you wanted," Ember grinned into the receiver.

Josué paused contemplatively and then chuckled. "Nah. I don't think that would work."

"Oh, o- okay," she hung her head. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye, I love you!"

"I love you too," he hung up.

Ember sighed. Well, if she couldn't actually be with him, she could reminisce. Her mind played back the; first question, first answer, first date, first hug, and first kiss. Then she sighed in a satisfied manner and went back downstairs.

* * *

Josué sighed in relief and turned back around.

"Did you get rid of her?" asked the girl with the bleach blonde hair.

"Yeah, for now. She's so weird. She runs out on me one minute, and then calls me a few hours later to see if we can go out again. I don't get it. It's like she doesn't take it seriously," he replied.

"Oh, poor baby," the girl moaned in sympathy. "You deserve so much better than that."

"Thanks Shelbie," he smiled wearily, taking the cheerleader into his arms and kissing her on the forehead. He enjoyed every minute of the time he spent with the girl he _really_ wanted.

* * *

Kisshu was mentally kicking himself. He sat in the cherry blossom tree outside her window. Why was he doing this? She was his enemy. _"Yep. And you're supposed to be manipulating her emotions. For that, you need data." _He justified his actions. Today had been the first time that she had seen him in a while, but he has seen her every day. He told himself that it was for reasons related to his mission, but inside a still small voice nagged at him. _"Admit it. You know the reason you're following her isn't just to gather data anymore." _He reflected again on those eyes, and on the way she always predicted his next move. Somehow, she always knew his next words, and was able to fling them back in his face; distorted and twisted into something he had never intended them to be, making a point the direct opposite of his own.

Ichigo had been easy to tease, simple to predict her reaction. But sometimes, if he didn't know any better, Kisshu could have sworn that Ember was teasing _him_. She was a mystery, a challenge, and he wanted her because of that. Kisshu Ikisatashi had never met a girl whom he wasn't able to figure out, until now.


	10. Heartbreak

**Author:** **Another short chapter, but with the drama in this one, I again think you'll understand.**

School started up again and Ember was excited about the prospect of seeing Josué on a daily basis again. It was lunch break, and her English teacher had asked her to bring the skull prop (from Shakespeare's _Hamlet_) back to the drama club's supply room. She didn't mind. Going to the drama club's closet was always fun. There were tons of cool props and costumes. It was kind of like a different world.

She opened the door, switched on the light, and dropped the skull in shock. There was Josué, _her_ Josué, lip-locked with Shelbie Moore from the cheerleading squad. Their hair was messy, so they had obviously been kissing for a while.

The bright light and the noise of the dropped prop that echoed off the floor caused Josué to look up, momentarily detaching his lips from Shelbie's. The shock on his face made tears slip from Ember's big, brown eyes.

"What happened?" her voice quivered. "Just this week, even last night, you were telling me you loved me. And then I walk in to this. What's going on, Josué?"

Shelbie's face held a triumphant smirk, and Josué struggled to explain himself. "Ember, please let me explain. You kept cancelling our dates, and the ones you didn't cancel, you ran out on. I thought you didn't care anymore. And then Shelbie came along and…"

Ember didn't want to hear anymore. Tears streaming down her face, she remembered a little bit of the Japanese that Keiichiro had attempted to teach her. She combined it with some of the things learned in her Spanish class. "Baka anata! ¡Eres un tonto! ¡Un tonto, Josué!"

"What?" he looked at her oddly.

"You fool! You're a fool. A fool, Josué!" Then she added, "I hate you!"

Running from the room, she didn't notice anything save the lump in her throat and this overwhelming sense of betrayal. How could he do this to her? How? Her mind flashed back to all of the rejections.

Five years old. "No, Maryanne. She's a perfectly nice child. She's just a bit… odd to fit with us." That was Mrs. Sanders.

Eight years old. "Ember, you take good care of yourself, okay? So maybe the Collins' didn't like you, but one day you'll find a family that will absolutely love you to pieces. You're alone right now, so you have to take care of yourself. I'll help as much as I can, but I'm just a social worker. There's not much I can do." Maryanne had told her that.

Ten years old. "They don't really love any of us, they just keep us around. But they're sending you back. I heard 'em talking. They must really hate you." That was Jake, one among many of the foster kids at one of the 'meal ticket' homes at which she had stayed.

Age thirteen, a week before her birthday. "Oh no, she didn't do anything wrong. She just doesn't… mesh well with our family." Mr. Peters had said that.

"Lone Wolffe" she had been dubbed by all the social workers. She had come to accept it and had even referred to herself that way. It was how she had chosen her Mew Mew name. It was how she had lived her life. Ember "Lone" Wolffe. And that's why she'd always be alone, forever, until the end of time. Because nobody loved a wolf.

* * *

When school was over, Grace found her best friend crying on the bathroom floor. "Ember, what's wrong?" she asked, her tone conveying genuine concern.

"It's over," Ember whispered through the tears, her voice sounding hoarse and strangled, as if she were drowning from sorrow. "It's all over. Grace, he said he loved me. How could he do this to me?"

Grace just held her and let her cry. The boy-bashing comments could wait until tomorrow. Right now, the only thing Ember needed was a hug.

"Thank you, Grace." Ember gave a pathetic sounding laugh. "At least I'm not totally alone."

* * *

The wound was made worse by the fact that prom was that following weekend. Grace had convinced Ember to go with her because neither one of them had dates. Ember found herself actually able to smile at her reflection as she stared into the mirror. Her prom dress was white chiffon that flowed gently and loosely to her knees, and she wore a pair of silver strappy heels. Grace looked pretty good too in a mermaid-cut dress of green satin that complimented her hair.

Ember was having a good time at prom, until she walked over to the refreshment table. She grabbed a little pink plate and headed for the cheese cubes.

Josué was there, getting punch. _"He has two cups,"_ she noticed. She stood there, stacking her plate with little blocks of cheddar and pepper jack, not wanting to seem like she was running away from him. He finally grabbed his two glasses of punch and turned around. Ember glanced over her shoulder just in time to see him hand the second cup to a smiling Shelbie Moore. That was what did her in. It was too much.

She threw down her cheese plate and ran for the door. As soon as she was outside, she threw herself onto her knees on the grass. The rain began to fall at the exact same moment as her tears, as if taking pity on her and trying to disguise her pain.


	11. Forbidden

The rain seemed to melt Ember away, replacing her with Lone Wolf. The white haired super heroine bounded from rooftop to rooftop, aided by her staff. She took out her frustrations on various objects that she passed; satellite dishes, soda cans, and the rooftops themselves, banging her staff against them as she groaned in emotional agony.

"_Why can't someone love me for a change? I mean _really_ love me, not just be infatuated with me and confuse it for an emotion that is so much deeper." _ She stopped on one of the roofs and let her tears flow freely again. Leaning over on her staff, she decided that it was too much. _"Pretending to be strong when I'm so weak inside, so easily wounded, it's too much." _And so she cried, and even the arctic wolf within her let out a whimper at the loss of its mate.

"_That's right," _she remembered. _"Wolves mate for life. I was so sure we'd be together forever, I kissed him like a fool every chance I got. And I never stopped to consider what could happen… What did happen. How could I be so stupid? Was I so hungry for love? Am I still?"_

An all too familiar voice asked behind her, "Is something wrong, okamino-chan?"

She quickly wiped at her eyes before turning and saying stoically, "Kisshu, could you go away please? I don't feel like fighting right now."

"Well, that's good, okaminomimi-chan, because I don't feel like fighting either." He stared at her with intense yellow-gold eyes.

"Then… what do you want?" she asked him, frustrated.

He looked at this girl who had already captured his interest, and he had to admit that he didn't like the answer to her question. However, it was impossible to change the truth, and he had learned better than to try.

The building they were on had an elevator, and the top of the shaft which contained the pulleys stuck out from the rooftop like a brick box. Kisshu pushed her up against one of its walls, pinning her wrists beside her head with his hands. Then he answered, "To do something I know I'll regret later." He leaned in closer to her face. She was surprised when his lips brushed over hers gently, strengthening their pressure as the kiss continued. Her mind reeled.

"_Why is he kissing me? Oh my gosh, this is so weird and creepy. Kisshu is _kissing_ me."_

"_Is it really so weird, though?" _asked a still small voice in the back of her brain. _"Think about it a little more. It's not that odd. So maybe he has ears that are eight inches long, but Wolf, you have four ears. And two of them are furry. His hair may be green, but yours is white. And your eyes are the same color. If you're going to compare him to human ideals, you had best remember that you don't live up to them yourself. Give the boy a chance."_

"_But, we're enemies!" _she tried to argue.

The voice countered, _"You don't have to be."_ And as much as Ember knew this statement wasn't true, she wanted to believe it, because here he was offering her the thing someone else had just told her she couldn't have. He was dangling love in front of her face, letting her taste it with her mouth, and this assuaged her pain.

"Gomenesai," (I'm sorry) Kisshu muttered as he let up, only to kiss her again. But this time, her lips pressed back against his. He pulled away, surprised. "Did you just… kiss me back?"

"I don't know," she said shyly. "Why don't we find out?"

He didn't know what to think, but he wasn't in the mood for thinking, and neither was she. He leaned back in, pressing his lips into hers once more. She responded, wrenching her hands from his and pressing her face forward so that Kisshu was forced to step back. If she had done it to get free, now was her chance.

But instead, she was clinging to his shirt, her lips tingling with a foreign flavor of passion. It was something she had never experienced before. Kissing Josué had never produced this kind of reaction from her.

Inexperience and hunger caused them to knock their teeth together, but they didn't stop, reluctantly pulling back a little to avoid another collision. Another and another kiss, and Lone Wolf could feel her senses heightening. Taste was everything. Then touch; the rain streaked down her face and drenched her hair, Kisshu playfully nipped her lip with a pearly fang. Then there was sound, Lone Wolf growling in pleasure.

The lack of oxygen was beginning to make her dizzy. She knew that if she couldn't find anything solid to grab onto, she would most likely fall over. But there wasn't anything in the world, save Kisshu. Her hands clutched his forearms strongly, and she jumped, wrapping her legs around his hips. The power in his kiss intensified, and somehow she found herself running her fingers through his hair.

Kisshu was over the moon. She had kissed him back, and not just once; over and over and over again. His hands slid under her thighs, supporting her in his arms and helping her keep her balance. This was a rush like he had never experienced. She hadn't run away screaming, "No, I hate you!" Instead, she was here in his arms, running her hands through his hair.

His anatomy decided that was enough for now, and he pulled his mouth away, staring at her in awestruck disbelief. He then remembered that her species required oxygen to survive. Sure enough, she was breathing heavily, taking in air almost as hungrily as she had his kiss.

Lone Wolf stared deep into Kisshu's eyes, and the realization of what she had just done hit her like a wrecking ball. She placed her hands firmly on his shoulders and untangled herself from his body. Letting go, she took a step back. She had just made out with the enemy. What was she thinking? Why didn't she stop herself? He gazed at her serenely with his amber eyes, and she shook her head in protest of her own actions. Kisshu reached out his hand to her, but she shied away, staring at him like he was death itself. He was slightly shocked, but for the most part remained in a daze.

She turned and walked closer to the edge of the building and stopped halfway between it and Kisshu. But really, weren't they both the edge? And she had already jumped off of one of them. She massaged her temple a little, and then ran that same hand through her white hair, stopping it at the base of her wolf's ear, which she scratched nervously.

"Okaminomimi-chan," Kisshu's voice was calm and gentle, and he walked over to her, reaching to grab her wrist.

"Don't touch me!" she spat, yanking her arm away.

Kisshu was confused. "Okamino-"

"Don't you get it?" she sighed in frustration. "We can't do this!"

"Why not?" he yammered, still on cloud nine. "No one has to know about it. We can be together, just the two of us. If it came down to it, I could even make us an alternate world in another dimension. We could run away from all this fighting." Kisshu couldn't tell if he was serious, or if he was lulling her into a trap. It was his job to manipulate her emotions, to convince her to change sides. But right now, he wasn't sure what he was doing.

"This was a mistake," she rationalized. "We both have responsibilities to people other than ourselves. We can't just-"

"Ember," he looked at her through half-lidded eyes and she was surprised by his use of her secret name. "Do you like me?"

She narrowed her eyes. Did she? Reflecting on the reaction of her body, it certainly seemed that she did. But… it was impossible! "Th- That's not the point, Kisshu!"

"That's not a 'no'," he smirked.

"The point is," Ember yelled, ignoring his comment, "it doesn't matter what we think or what we feel! This is not allowed."

Kisshu finally looked sober. "So, okamino-chan, you're not even going to give me a chance?"

She looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, but no." He looked stricken, but she continued. "I did not choose my destiny, Kisshu, and neither did you. However, we have no choice but to fulfill them. We are enemies, and we always will be."

"Maybe not…" Kisshu's tone was defeated, but he had to voice his doubts. "What if I'm your destiny, wolf-chan?"

She looked up at him, shocked. That thought hadn't even entered her mind. She stammered, "Th- That's impossible!"

"Is it now?" he looked at her with sad eyes. His brow furrowed and he stared at the ground, clenching his fist, angry at himself for risking this much. Now he was bonded to this girl, and he wasn't looking forward to the future of agony. "Ksuh!" he shouted, the space around him moving visibly in the beginnings of a ripple. And then he was gone.

Lone Wolf dropped to her knees in exhaustion, resuming her tears. She didn't know why she was crying; not for lack of reasons, but for the abundance of them.


	12. Questions

Ryou was waiting for her to come home. Grace had called and told him what had happened at the prom, and he was worried about Ember. That girl managed to get herself in all kinds of trouble.

He felt a tingling sensation at his fingertips. It was happening again. Ryou held up his hand and watched the claws come out. He knew what was happening. His cat DNA was taking over. It was inevitable, the price he paid for not having the specific gene type that was compatible with the Mew Project serum. In his case, the only thing wrong was that he had a Y-chromosome.

It was a shocking occurrence. He hadn't expected this until his mid-thirties. He was only nineteen. Had he calculated wrong? If so, by how much? He sat at the dining room table, using a claw to scratch its surface a little, leaving a mark. It felt good somehow, like he was releasing some of this nervous tension.

So far, his claws only came out when he was stressed. He lifted his hand from the table and studied the sharp objects protruding from his fingertips. They were longer this time, and that wasn't a good sign.

He heard a gasp and looking up, he saw Keiichiro Akasaka standing near the entrance to the room, staring at him. Ryou stared back down at the table, his blue eyes both sad and serious.

"Keiichiro, please, don't tell the girls."

* * *

Ember kicked in her screen and crawled in her window, which had been left open for the entrance of the spring air. Now the windowsill was soaked by this April shower, as were Ember's hair and clothes. She replaced the screen and closed the window, locking it in case Kisshu decided he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. She sighed loudly and shook her head as she remembered, _"Oh yeah, he teleports."_

She walked to her bathroom to change out of her dripping garments and dry her hair. Hanging her clothes on the shower curtain rod to dry, she slipped into her fuzzy blue bath robe. As she combed through her hair, she thought about his words. _"What if I'm your destiny, wolf-chan?"_ She brushed her teeth. The weirdest thing was, the intuition her spirit wasn't going against it like she expected. Her conscience held no guilt. The only thing that seemed to go against it was her logic.

"_How could that be?"_ she asked herself as she changed into her pajamas. _"He's the enemy. I shouldn't be fraternizing with him." _She lay down in her bed and sighed yet again as she snuggled her face into the pillow, closing her eyes. "I mean," she assured herself, "I can't be responsible for the death of an entire planet."

Then her eyes opened wide with an astonishing revelation; the significance of the word _'an'_. Smiling, she stared up at the ceiling in wonder, recognizing the true nature of her destiny. With a triumphant smile on her face, she fell asleep.

When Ember awoke the next morning, she felt like she had forgotten something very important.

* * *

Ryou had gone to sleep after finding Ember in her bedroom, murmuring in her dreams. He had gone up there to check the window, and lo and behold, there was the girl for whom he had been waiting for the past hour and a half. He exhaled, flustered, and then went back downstairs to his room, the one directly below hers.

He woke up the next morning and stretched both of his arms out in front of him, much like a cat awaking from a nap. He felt his hands catch on something and heard a tugging sound on the sheets, so he opened his eyes. What he saw frightened him.

His claws had come out again. It was getting worse. He carefully unsnagged the sharp little hooks from his sheets and willed them to retract. It displeased him even more when they did so. Now that they were under his control, it meant they were finished developing and were here to stay.

He walked to the bathroom and took a shower. When he was finished, he slid on his robe and brushed his teeth. After rinsing his mouth, he ran his tongue across his teeth to make sure he had gotten everything. What he felt when his tongue reached his canines made him want to swear. He stuck out his tongue and saw that the edge was indeed bleeding. Opening his mouth, he looked into the mirror and didn't like what he saw. His canine teeth had lengthened slightly and were needle sharp. He wrinkled his nose and attempted an agitated sigh. It sounded more like an angry, feline hiss. The change was taking place much faster than he had expected, and he wondered how long it would take before he was no longer human.

* * *

Kisshu sat in the park, holding a parasite. He needed a pure spirit to make the best Chimera, and something had recently brought his attention to the innocence of human children. Some tiny voice in the back of his mind told him that this was going too far and that he shouldn't do it. He told the voice to shut up. Showing mercy was what got him in trouble.

A group of little boys ran through the park, happy to be out playing on a Sunday. Kisshu flew down and landed in front up them, and they stopped and stared at him. He reached out his right hand, the one not holding the parasite, to one of the boys. The child levitated in the air, energy waves rippling away from him and towards Kisshu. Finally, the spirit emerged and the Cyniclon slid it into the mouth of the jellyfish. He held his prize up to the sky and shouted, "FUSION!"

The Chimera Anima was born. It looked like a very large lizard, somewhat like a velociraptor. A very big velociraptor. Its skin was orange with black stripes, like a tiger. With its massive tail, it knocked the other two boys, its former playmates, unconscious.

* * *

Ember couldn't quite comprehend the urgency she felt this time as she ran to the river, Bolt Noir beside her, matching her stride. But nonetheless, her yellow eyes were wide and her furry ears alert to every sound. Whatever it was this time, it was worse than ever before.

* * *

Kisshu spoke to the Chimera as he leaned back in a tree, facing the river. "See those two bridges there?" Kisshu asked, pointing to the Kennedy on his right and the Second Street on his left. The Chimera Anima rumbled in its throat, conveying the affirmative. "Destroy them," Kisshu commanded. The giant reptile went to work as Kisshu watched with an evil smirk.

* * *

Lone Wolf didn't understand. This Chimera was wrecking the Kennedy Bridge, endangering the lives of hundreds of people, and her intuition was telling her not to fight it. She was finally able to distinguish her intuition and her instinct, because her instinct was telling her to roast this monster. So, she took out her lighter and played with fire. But the whole time her conscience was screaming, _"No, stop! This is __**wrong!**__"_ She didn't understand why it was telling her these things, so she just ignored it. But as the battle progressed, her guilt mounted.

"_I don't understand!" _ Ember was arguing with herself in her mind. _"What makes this one so different? Why shouldn't I fight it?"_

The still, small voice answered, _"Because you're not meant to…" _it trailed off.

"_Meant to… what?" _she screamed inwardly.

"_I – I can't remember. I don't know… But I know what it isn't, and it isn't this!" _the voice cried.

"_That thing will __**kill**__ people. Am I just supposed to let them die?"_

"_No, you're not supposed to let anyone die…" _her soul had found a bit of what it had forgotten, and it grabbed at the understanding like a child at dust in the sunlight. _"No one needs to die. Not anyone. Do you understand now?" _

"_No, I don't!" _and with that, she forced a roaring fireball at the Chimera Anima. At the same time, Bolt Noir used her electrokinesis to call down lightening from the sky, and it struck the reptile on the head when Wolf's fire encountered its belly. It seemed that the dual attack had fried both parasite and host, but En Pointe went to check. The other two saw her bend down, picking something up.

The swan mew flew back over to her comrades. In her hand was something small and orange that appeared to be a mix of a gemstone and a snowflake.

"What is it?" Bolt Noir asked.

"I don't know…" Lone Wolf supplied.

"Is it some sort of alien crystal, maybe?" En Pointe pondered aloud.

Then Lone Wolf's face went almost as pale as her hair. "It's a spirit…" she mourned. Something within her had just answered the question, and it had also told her who had taken it. _Kisshu._ "The aliens can extract a person's spirit and use it to make a…" she trailed off. They already knew what it had made. Ember wanted to cry. She had kissed the kind of person who would do this?

* * *

It was made worse when they spotted the spirit's owner as they went back through the park. They had returned to their normal forms and were walking quietly down the sidewalk, when they encountered a little blonde boy sprawled across their path, unconscious. Raquel bent down and replaced the kid's spirit, smiling at him as he revived. "Hey, are you okay?" asked the teen with a small break in her voice.

"Y- Yeah. I think so. Thank you," said the boy as he stood up. He was confused and wasn't sure why he was thanking them, but smiled and ran off, turning to wave goodbye about fifty feet away from them.

Grace watched the boy leave with a pained expression on her face, Ember seemed to be lost in a haze, and even Raquel's smile was subdued. As the girls walked back to her house, Ember was stuck in the realm of thought. _"He- He was just a child. And still… Kisshu, he- Why?"_

* * *

When they walked through the door, Keiichiro noticed the somber looks on their faces and asked them what had happened. They told him, and Ryou listened from the opposite side of the room.

Keiichiro sighed, "So something like that happened, did it? I'm sorry, girls, that you had to do that."

"Get used to it," mumbled Ryou. "It's part of your job." Then he turned and left the room.

Grace was shocked. How could he be so insensitive? Her dismay showed on her face.

Raquel agreed with him. They couldn't go getting depressed at the end of every battle. It wasn't healthy.

Ember wanted to slap him. What a jerk! She had never asked for this job and she didn't want it. _"My destiny is to protect the Earth, and I can do that without having to fight like this!" _she surprised herself. _"I can? How?"_ But the only response she received was silence.

Looking down at the dining room table, she spotted a small scratch on its surface. _"When did that get there?"_

* * *

She was in her bedroom, brushing her hair, when she suddenly became hyperaware of everything around her. The auburn hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and her brown eyes went wide. This feeling of being watched, hunted by a predator, made shivers run up and down her spine.

Ember turned her eyes to the source of this feeling; the cherry blossom tree outside her window. It was in full bloom, branches blossoming with thousands of little pink flowers. But in the midst of all this pink, her eyes met two golden orbs.


	13. A Looonngggg Night

**Author: You guys can thank CelticLily for this chapter being posted tonight instead of tomorrow. Reviews really get me motivated. The chapter below is actually a fusion of two chapters from my notebook version of the story because I realized they were both too short on their own.**

* * *

Ember opened her window and leaned on the sill, staring back at him. He didn't move. Did he think she couldn't see him?

"So… Kisshu," she spoke, "are you going to sit out there all night?" He didn't blink. It was eerie. Her heart began to beat faster. Her eyes flashed quickly, a glimpse of yellow so fast it was gone nearly before it could be seen. Ember wasn't the only one on edge. Her alternate mindset, Lone Wolf, was nervous too. Her wolf whimpered inside, and she was reminded of her mistake. He was the person whom her inner animal now recognized as its mate, and sent her longing to be closer, as crazy as it seemed, even though he sent her adrenaline rushing, perhaps because he did. She scooted forward on the window sill, pressing her hands slightly into the screen.

If breaking up with Josué had torn her to pieces and driven her to do something as crazy as kiss Kisshu, she didn't want to know what she would do if suddenly deprived of her wolf's new mate. She was still angry at him for the Chimera he had made earlier today, but found the distance unbearable. She remembered their night on the rooftop – had it really only been the night before? – it felt like a lifetime. She wanted to hold him, and be held by him, however illogical it may have been, enemies or not. And again, she found herself leaning forward, her nose brushing the black mesh that separated them.

The screen on the window was still loose from the night before. Suddenly, Ember found herself falling through the air.

Kisshu felt his heart jump, and as much as his mind told him to let his enemy fall to her death, his heart would not allow her to die while he could still do something. He found himself leaping from the tree, diving after her. Once he caught her, he hovered in midair, clutching her protectively to his chest.

"Be more careful, okaminomimi-chan," he whispered in her ear, his breath caressing her cheek. "Can't have you dying on me."

She couldn't help herself. She threw her arms around his neck, trying to stifle the fearful whimper and hold back the frightened tears. She had assumed he would let her fall to her doom. The adrenaline rushed to her brain and her pulse pounded in her ears, so she barely heard herself say, "Thank you." She nuzzled into him, trying to assure herself that she wasn't going to fall.

She was still hyperaware of everything, realizing this was because Lone Wolf was just as scared as Ember; the two mindsets melding. Kisshu smelled like wood and cherry blossoms. His arms didn't tremble once under her weight; in fact, they seemed as relaxed as if she were only a gallon of milk. His strength was deceiving beneath his thin frame.

Kisshu was surprised that she was hugging him. His mind was now screaming at him for his own idiocy, but his heart hoped that she had changed her mind about their enmity.

"We need to talk, wolf-chan," he breathed. She nodded her agreement. "Will you come somewhere with me?" She hesitated, suspicion crossing her face to stab him in the chest, before she agreed with a slow nod. Holding her a little tighter, he teleported. He felt her body go hot and worried it had affected her, so he looked down and saw that she had transformed.

"_So she still hasn't let her guard down yet,"_ he mused inwardly.

They were in the wolf enclosure at the zoo, and he sat her down on a rock, and then settled beside her, not able to resist the urge to run his fingers through her hair.

"Wolf-chan," he began from his heart, "I don't care if we are enemies. I know that attempting to distance myself from you will only drive me mad. I could end up hurting you, and I don't want to do that."

"Why did you do it?" she asked, her eyes growing hazy. "Why did you have to try so hard? He… He was just a child, Kisshu, but still you…" she buried her head in her hands and looked at him sideways. "How could you do that? What kind of - " she bit back words that she was sure would only anger him. Her thought was, _"What kind of monster would do that?"_ She raised her face up to the moon as the tears streamed down it, closing her eyes to gather her courage. "How would you like it if someone took _your_ spirit?"

He froze and stared at her. "I can't think about that," he said coldly. "Everyone on my planet is depending on me. I have to think about them."

Her expression was one of confusion, this emotion momentarily stopping her tears. "I thought you had the Mew Aqu-"

"It ran out," he supplied. "Everything is just as barren and destitute as it was before. So now everyone is counting on me, on Pai and Taruto, all over again." He shrugged. "We saved them last time."

At this time a female wolf from the exhibit walked over to them. She was big, grey, and eyed Kisshu warily as she sniffed Ember. Lone Wolf assured the alpha female that they would be gone by morning in some feral language of barks and growls, and the wolf left them alone.

Kisshu watched the exchange with amorous fascination. "Okamino-chan," he uttered breathlessly, "you amaze me."

Ember looked at him and came to an unexpected conclusion. But since last night, when she had stopped comparing him to human ideals, she had found him incredibly attractive. The lithe, lanky form that was deceiving in its strength, the forest green hair that barely fluttered to his shoulders with the bangs that fell slightly into his eyes, those amber eyes with the slit pupils that shone in the moonlight. Those eyes were meeting hers right now. Those eyes were moving closer with rest of his face.

Then both pairs of eyes fluttered closed, Ember deciding to forgive him for earlier that day. Their lips moved closer, and she understood that desperation could cause people to do crazy things, smiling a little at her own experience in that area. She felt his breath, warm and moist on her lips, less than an inch away.

Then the ground shook ferociously, causing Ember to jump, and suddenly they were reminded of themselves.

* * *

Kisshu grabbed her and teleported toward the sound. They materialized on a rooftop above a battle scene. Below, En Pointe and Bolt Noir battled a strange Chimera which looked like a one-eyed slug with arms. Among the chaos was another girl. She was dressed in red and had some sort of prehensile tail.

One look at each other, and both Lone Wolf and Kisshu knew they parted here. Kisshu teleported to where the other aliens hovered, ten feet above the Anima's head. He was surprised they hadn't told him about this attack. He was even more surprised that Gentiel was here. The blond Ardenite _never_ joined their fights. Weird…

* * *

Lone Wolf could tell the Mews needed her help. This Chimera was different. Every strike just made it jiggle like a plate of Jell-O. Something was up, and it made her shiver.

Bolt Noir shot an arrow at it. The arrow was lodged in the Chimera's slimy, see-through flesh. Watching in horror, the mews saw the metal missile dissolve as if it were being digested. En Pointe struck it with her ribbon. Nothing happened. Her sound wave attack merely made it wiggle. The mew in red jumped and seemed to bite the creature. Part of the Anima's arm sizzled around the bite, but whether it was due to the venom or the Chimera's digestion of the venom, no one could tell.

Bolt Noir got fed up with it and called a lightning bolt down from the sky. (If he hadn't moved out of the way in time, Pai would have been fried.) The bolt hit the Chimera on the top of its head. The Anima shuddered somewhat, but still did not vanish.

* * *

"Hey guys, how come I didn't know about this?" Kisshu asked, feeling a little hurt.

"You're too unpredictable and a liability," Gentiel's cold voice replied stoically.

"What?" Kisshu balked.

"He's right," Taruto agreed, reclining in midair. "After what happened with the old hag, it's too risky to tell you everything."

"Taruto…" Kisshu was struggling not to pout. His friends really didn't trust him? Kisshu looked at the one with lavender hair, the only one who hadn't betrayed him. "Pai…" Pai met Kisshu's eyes, and then glanced away just as quickly. No. Not even Pai trusted Kisshu. This made him angry. "I'm doing my job just as much as the rest of you!" he screamed in their native Cyncloni tongue, determined to prove his loyalty.

"Now is not the time to pick an argument, Kisshu," Gentiel's gaze never wavered from the battle below.

The reproval hit the green-haired boy in the face. What was happening? But he knew what was happening. _She_ was happening. _The bond_ was happening.

* * *

Lone Wolf was ready to fight. She pulled out her lighter, and then froze, staring at it. She had a flashback.

[ "Hey, Ember, catch! Let me show you how it works. Now you try."

"On school grounds?"

"Sure. Why not? Will you go out with me?"

"Sure. Why not?"]

This thing was the reminder of her desperation and rejection, and she wanted to be rid of it.

She lit a flame in her hand, took it, and threw the lighter off the edge of the building toward the battle below. Then she jumped. The butane pocket torch hit the ground and burst open. No longer in its pressurized container, the butane returned to its normal form as a gas, quickly spreading through the air but remaining every bit as flammable. Lone Wolf aimed the fireball she held at the broken lighter and fired.

Flame met with butane and a roaring fire burst forth. Raising her arms mid-fall, Ember transformed the unorganized energy into a pillar of burning orange. Unable to stop the forward motion of her body, she soared into this cylinder of flames and out the other side, unscathed. She landed on her feet on the pavement.

"Firewall!" she yelled, and the pillar of fire stretched into a wall that enclosed both her and the Anima, blocking out the other Mews. "We end this now," she growled. Her conscience tugged at her, but all she could hear were Kisshu's words.

["I can't think about that. I have to think of them."]

"_If he won't show mercy to our side, then I will show none to his. This is a war, after all."_

The wall of fire crushed into the Chimera and burned it. She backed off, and the parasite hovered above… nothing? Strange… She was sure she hadn't burned the host.

* * *

"Interesting data," Gentiel entered something into a portable version of the Global Reader and turned to Pai. "We'll need a lot more of those amoebae." Then the blond warrior teleported away. Pai and Taruto followed suit, and Kisshu reluctantly went with them.

* * *

Ember let the fire fizzle out. She was so surprised by its lacking a host, she momentarily forgot about the parasite itself.

"Mew Lone Wolf," said Bolt Noir in her normally serious tone, "meet Mew Diamondback."

Ember shook hands with the new mew. En Pointe began to explain, "We found her while patrolling. She was saving a middle schooler from potential, uh…" the swan mew blushed.

"Rapists," finished Mew Diamondback in a mundane sounding tone. She sounded like she did this every day. It sent chills up Ember's spine. The way she looked was different too. Her outfit was sort of punk; a red mini-dress with a slight turtle neck and a hole in the front exposing her stomach, part of which was covered in snake scales. Where the armbands and garter should have been, there were instead bands of snakeskin that appeared to be grafted into her human flesh. There was a pair of mid-calf rise boots on her feet, and she had a crop of black hair that was cut like a boy's. Out from her head grew two twin snake heads, each the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake from which she got her name, quite a menacing pair of pigtails. She also had a forked tongue that flicked in and out of her mouth, and the way Ember had seen her take a bite into that Chimera earlier, the wolf mew assumed this girl had venomous fangs in there as well. Her eyes were a haunting sort of hazel with slit pupils, and from her posterior coiled the tail of a rattlesnake. This tail began to rattle quite suddenly, in warning.

Not a moment later, a huge blast of flame collided with the forgotten parasite, roasting it to the point of ash.

"You missed one," remarked a male voice when the flames ceased. All of the Mews turned their heads toward the sound. There stood a teenage boy with his hand outstretched, wearing a black leather trench coat and mirror-lens sunglasses. His dark blonde hair fell to his eyebrows in the front, and to the nape of his neck in the back. He had a certain cockiness to his stance. Lowering his hand, he grinned. He looked good, and he knew it. "It seems I owe you an apology, Lone Wolf. Or should I say Ember?"

The mew he addressed sputtered, "J- J- J- Josué?"

* * *

Later that night, Emma and George arrived at the airport. George was a fat, balding man, and what hair he had left was grey. Emma was a teenage girl with chocolate brown hair and eyes that matched. It was 11:15 p.m. when the two had gathered their luggage. Emma had a suitcase, a backpack, and a duffle bag. George only had a small briefcase. Emma was a little sad to be leaving Chicago, but was also excited about the prospect of her new life here in Louisville, even if it was a fraction of the size of her hometown.

It was 11:30 when the balding social worker and his charge met up with two men. One was a blue-eyed blond who was probably around twenty years of age. The other was a brunette with a long ponytail who was probably over thirty.

George began the introductions, "Emma Leigh, this is Keiichiro Akasaka and his adopted son, Ryou Shirogane. They're going to adopt you."


	14. A Couple of Kidnappings

Ember had Josué handcuffed to the headboard. (She would have preferred the chair, but Bolt Noir suggested the bed, reasoning that he could just pick up the chair and walk away.) Her pyromaniac of an ex-boyfriend had discovered her secret identity, and she wasn't planning on letting him blab it to the whole world, which is exactly what he was threatening to do.

Their earlier conversation had gone something like this:

Josué: "I think I owe you an apology, Lone Wolf. Or should I say Ember?"

Lone Wolf: "J- Josué?"

Josué: "Hey baby. Miss me?"

Lone Wolf (growling): "You wish!" (Taking defensive posture.)

Josué: "You know, if you had just told me you were cancelling our dates to go save the world, I never would have cheated on you."

Lone Wolf: "You're trying to pin your actions on me? Is that what you're saying here?"

Josué (surprised that she had a good comeback): "Everyone's actions affect some other person's actions. It's a psychological fact, sweetheart."

Lone Wolf (growling): "Whatever. And stop it with the pet names!" (smirk) "You don't want to provoke a wild animal."

Diamondback (tail beginning to rattle): "I don't even have to read minds to know that nothing good will come from this."

En Pointe (to Diamondback): "You read minds?"

Diamondback: "Yeah."

En Pointe: "…Oh."

Lone Wolf (to Josué): "Just tell me what you want already!"

Josué (stares at her intently): "I want you to go out with me again." (Thinking about how his reputation would be affected if he was seen dating a Mew Mew, grinning wolfishly.)

Lone Wolf: "In your dreams! Break my heart once, shame on you. Break it twice, shame on me for giving you that chance. … How did you figure it out, anyways?"

Josué (giving look like "Duh"): "I could join MENSA if I wanted. You really think I wouldn't figure things out eventually? Sure it took me a while, but after I broke up with you, I noticed you were still running off to places that week of Prom. When I got home there would be a news story on TV about another person claiming to have seen a Mew Mew. I put two and two together and got four."

Lone Wolf (sarcastically): "Yeah, congratulations. You're a freakin' genius. We know. I'm _still_ not going to go out with you."

Josué: "Oh, I think you will. Otherwise, I'll tell the world who the Mew Mews really are."

* * *

So now, Josué was handcuffed to the headboard of Ryou's bed. Where were Ryou and Keiichiro anyway? It was nearly midnight. What could they be doing?

Lone Wolf took charge. "En Pointe, call Ryou. Bolt Noir, check the training floor."

"Why do I have to call Ryou?" and with that timidly put question, Grace's mindset was ruling En Pointe's body.

"Okay, fine. Switch that. Noir, here's my phone. En Pointe, you know where it is," Lone decided.

The swan mew blushed and exited the room, demanifesting once in the hall. She bumped into Ryou in the kitchen, near the basement door. Keiichiro and a brown haired girl were there too. "Um… Ryou, we sort of have a-"

"You must be Ember. You're my new sister. Yay!" the girl gave Grace an enthusiastic hug.

"Uh…" Grace blushed. What to do? Especially when Ryou was right there.

"No, Emma," Ryou said firmly. "This is Ember's good friend, Grace." Emma released the redhead. Then Ryou turned to Grace, meeting her green eyes with his blue ones. "What are you doing here, anyways? Won't your parents be concerned?"

"Oh my goodness!" Grace shouted, blushing and throwing a hand over her mouth. "I forgot about that with all of the excitement. I have to go!" She turned and retreated out the front door to the house.

At that moment, Ryou's phone rang. He picked up. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ryou. This is Bolt Noir." The happy tone of voice sounded more like Raquel. "Wherever you are, you need to get back to HQ pronto. We um… We kind of have someone tied up in your bedroom."

"WHAT?" screamed Ryou. He hung up and turned the corner, dashing down the short hallway to his bedroom door. He was expecting a captured alien. But when he flung open the door, he found Josué handcuffed to his bed. Lone Wolf was pacing the floor, Bolt Noir was holding the phone, and a snake mew he had never seen before was standing guard next to Josué and looking menacing. "What the heck is going on?" he shouted.

"Oh, Ryou!" chirped the fox mew. "You're back. That was fast." She stared at the phone she was holding. "Is this thing magic?"

Keiichiro tried to keep Emma from following Ryou, but to no avail. The teenage girl poked her head in the door and smiled. "Whoa, epic! It's a kinky orgy!"

Ryou balked, Lone Wolf stopped in her tracks, Bolt Noir dropped the phone, and Josué burst out laughing. Mew Diamondback merely raised an eyebrow. Ryou and Ember stammered at the same time, "What did you just say?"

Josué used his free hand to wipe at his eye and moaned happily, "Oh that was great." He laughed again.

"Thank you, thank you," Emma bowed to her left and right.

"It was just a joke…?" Ryou sweatdropped. "Well, I wanted to wait until morning to tell her this, but after her seeing this I suppose there is no other choice. Emma, you go downstairs with Keiichiro to watch a movie."

"Aw… But I want to stay. This looks like more fun," Emma pouted.

"You," Ryou pointed at Diamondback. "You go too. You need to see this video as well."

Emma shrugged, "I'll go if snake-girl goes." Diamondback hissed, but obliged. The two girls left the room and followed the brunette baker to the basement.

Bolt Noir found the now awkward atmosphere very uncomfortable and decided to ask, "Where's Grace?"

"She went home," Ryou supplied.

"Great! I'll go mentor the newbies then!" replied the fox mew, out the door in a flash.

Ryou shook his head in amusement, and then turned to Josué with a serious expression on his face. "Lone Wolf, please explain to me why your ex-boyfriend is handcuffed to my bed." The wolf mew told him what had happened earlier that night, and Ryou nodded slowly. "The solution to this is simple," he replied. "Just go out with him."

Josué smirked in approval of Ryou's idea. Lone Wolf hollered, "No way!"

"Why not?" asked Ryou.

"Because I've already moved on," she spat, not thinking.

"Oh really?" Ryou narrowed his eyes at her. "With whom?"

"Yeah, with whom?" Josué demanded.

Lone Wolf demanifested into Ember, crossing her arms and saying, "That's none of your business."

"You shouldn't have any reason to hide it," Ryou said calmly, and Ember was vaguely reminded of the time period directly before a storm. His hands tensed at his sides and he struggled to keep them from becoming fists. "Who is this guy? Why can't you tell me about him?"

"Ryou, your hands," Ember stared at his fingertips. He followed her eyes and swore in Japanese when he saw that his claws had come out, literally. Ember met his blue eyes with her brown ones, and he knew he was caught. "Why didn't you tell us about that, Ryou?" she countered, voice cold.

"What happens to my body is a private matter," he growled, retracting his claws.

"And so is my romantic life," Ember stated. Ryou could practically feel her losing respect for him, or what little she had left. "Don't be a hypocrite, Ryou." With those words, she left the room.

* * *

She leaned against her windowsill for the second time that night, letting the cool breeze of spring comb through her auburn hair. The screen to the window still lay on the grass where it had fallen earlier. It had been around two hours, and Ember didn't feel like going to sleep. She had school tomorrow, but for the first time, she didn't care.

Emma had finished the training video and power discovery and leaned against the footboard of Ember's bed, babbling like a happy child. "It turns out that I'm part Siberian tiger, and I have cry-o-kin-e-sis." She pronounced every syllable of the big word. "It means I can control ice with my brain. Isn't that neat? I also have this pair of nunchuks. They disappear when I'm not using them, but Keiichiro told me you had a staff that could do that same thing.

"That other girl, I think she said her name was Aimee, is an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. She can read minds and control them… What did Keiichiro call it? Telepathy! And she also fights with poison. Keiichiro said something about that being her weapon instead of nunchuks or a staff or something. He said it was unusual. I don't get it, but…"

Ember wondered if her new "sister's" abilities included absorbing oxygen through her skin, because she hadn't stopped to breathe once. Standing in front of the window, Ember tried to tune out the other girl's chatter. The thing she couldn't tune out was Emma's sudden, blood-curdling scream. She opened her brown eyes, and all she saw was gold. Then she felt a hand on her chin.

She heard Ryou yelling, "Girls, what wrong?" as he pounded up the stairs.

Emma was stammering, "H- Hey y-you. You get away from her!"

Kisshu's voice washed over Ember, somehow soothing her in the midst of all this chaos. "I believe we have some unfinished business, neh, Lone Wolf?" He put his other hand on her shoulder. Through her peripheral vision, Ember saw Ryou burst through the door. And then, everything was gone. For half a second, it was just her and Kisshu in an endless sea of black, and then they emerged on the other side. The next thing Ember saw… was stars.


	15. Building Bridges

Stars. They were outside. Ember recognized the place, but she had never actually been here before. Seeing things from this angle felt strange. She backed out of his arms and took in the view.

Over the Ohio River stretched three bridges that led into downtown Louisville from places in Indiana. There was the Kennedy Bridge, the Second Street Bridge, and the Sherman Minton Bridge. (The last of these bridges had been recently closed for repairs, but had finally reopened two weeks ago.) These were the bridges over which automobiles crossed the river. But these were not the only bridges that existed.

There were also two old train bridges. Neither was in use anymore, the tracks leading up to the bridges had been removed a long time ago, and they were both terribly rusty. The state had plans to use the one east of the Kennedy as a footbridge, and the Kentucky side had already built a concrete path up to it. But the one west of the Second Street and east of the Sherman Minton still had no access point, no way to get up or down. No way that is, unless you could fly, or teleport.

It was this latter bridge that Ember now stood upon, staring out over the river below, the water too murky to reflect the stars that shone in the night sky. But it still reflected the lights of the city.

She began to wonder why Kisshu had brought her here, and found herself getting nervous. _"Did he bring me here because he knows I can't get off without falling to my grave? Does he intend to push me off into the water? But… If that's what he wanted to do, then why didn't he just let me fall out of the window earlier?" _She decided to trust him a little bit. It sounded foolish, trusting the enemy, but the evidence gave her no other alternative.

The silence between the two of them was filled with the sounds of cars whizzing by on the other bridges. A flock of geese flew overhead, honking noisily and seeming to head for the riverside park, probably to nest for the season. The quiet seemed awkward to Ember, so she spoke.

"Kisshu," she furrowed her brow in confusion, "what are we doing _here?_"

"We never finished our date," he winked at her playfully.

"_So that was his 'unfinished business', huh? Heh. How cute." _She smiled at him, several thoughts running through her mind. _"He basically kidnapped me just to finish our date. He even made it sound like he was going to hurt me or something so no one would be suspicious." _It made her feel a little warm inside. No matter how many dates she had missed with Josué, he had never tried to make up for them. Now of course, any normal teenage girl would have thought kidnapping to be a little… extreme. But Ember was half wolf, and the animal in her appreciated her mate's possessiveness.

He hovered over to where she stood, then bent down to whisper in her ear, "Okamino-chan, be mine."

This sudden action made her blush- another thing she had never experienced with Josué- and she wondered what had made Kisshu say that so suddenly. She grinned sheepishly, "The road has to go two ways, Kisshu. You have to be mine back."

He pulled back and looked her in the face, a bittersweet expression on his visage. "It's not like I have much choice in that is it?"

"What do you mean?" she understood his implication, but wasn't sure what bound him to it.

He raised his left hand and ran it through his hair, pushing back his bangs. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this," he muttered. Then he dropped his hand to her hip and pulled her close, staring deep into her eyes. "With my kind," he began, hesitating for a moment, "you can't just go around kissing people the way humans do. It doesn't work that way. A kiss creates a… deep emotional bond with my species. This bond is very powerful and is meant to never be broken. Do you… understand what I'm trying to say, okamino-chan?"

She nodded slowly. "I think so… What you're saying, basically, is that you mate for life?" Upon his curt nod, she replied with a meager smile, "Wolves… do that too."

It took him a moment to grasp what she meant, but once he did, his eyes went wide with surprise and relief. "Okaminomimi-chan," he breathed softly. "Oh, okaminomimi-chan." His right hand was on her back, his left one behind her head and trailing its fingers through her hair. He hugged her close, murmuring over and over, "Okaminomimi-chan."

Tears of a strange sort of relief came flowing from both his eyes and hers. It was bittersweet, this reassurance of guaranteed affections for one another. But Kisshu remembered: They were still enemies. He voiced his concerns.

"Ember," he sniffled to stop the flow of tears, "as long as we are here, we are enemies." She pulled back and looked up at him with sad eyes. "So," he continued, "we need to get out of here. We can find a place where we can be together without anyone judging us. It's possible. There are so many galaxies out there; we could find a place."

She shook her head firmly. "Life isn't about finding that place; it's about creating it. Why search for a place when we could make one right here?" She hoped he would know what she meant.

But he misunderstood. "I can make a small, alternate dimension just for the two of us. We could be alone together forever, if that's what you wanted. Would you come with me?"

She shook her head again, pushing him away and stepping back. "No, Kisshu. I can't."

"Why not?" he spat, frowning. He didn't understand. She had just told him that she reciprocated his feelings. Why wouldn't she go?

"I have a responsibility, Kisshu. The lives of millions of people rest in my hands. I couldn't live with myself if they all died due to my making a selfish decision."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe they deserve to die?" he growled, upset with her for getting his hopes up only to smash them like a pestering mosquito.

"That's not for us to decide!" she yelled back. "It's not up to us to choose who deserves life and who deserves death. That's God's job; not mine, and not yours."

"This place won't let us be together, Wolf! Don't you get that? In the eyes of your society, we are forbidden to love one another." Ember's brown eyes widened at the word 'love', but he continued as if he wasn't aware he had said it. "How would you deal with _that_? You claim you're every bit as bonded to me, so why won't you understand this?"

She stared at him, slightly shell-shocked by his sudden confession. Upon recovering, she met his eyes with a determined look. "Social rejection I can handle. What I can't handle is being responsible for the death of an entire planet!" And then it hit her, the memory of something she had forgotten, the true nature of her destiny, the significance of the word 'an'. She added quietly, "Not mine, and not yours."

He looked up at her in surprise. "What did you just say, okamino-chan?"

"It's not up to me to decide who dies. And what makes your people any less important than mine? My real job is to protect God's creation. He'll have to forgive my momentary lapse, because the truth is, God didn't just create the Earth. He also made your planet and everyone on it. This means that your people are every bit as important as mine. And I suppose it also means that it is my responsibility to protect them as well."

"Okamino-chan… Ember," he looked at her with eyes that now held not only love, but also respect as well. His gaze dropped to his feet and he mumbled, "And Pai says all humans are selfish… What you're saying is beautiful, but also impossible. My people won't be happy with this polluted place. This place is not our 'promised planet'. I can't bring them here now. It isn't good enough."

"It's better than where they are now, is it not?" she countered. When Kisshu gave a reluctant nod, she went on. "So why would you want to make them wait until the end of this never ending war?" When he gave her a funny look, she explained, "The stronger your side gets, the stronger my side becomes to counteract it, until eventually this planet is just as bad or worse as the one on which they currently reside. And if you're hoping that such destruction will bring about new birth like a forest after a wildfire, you can look at your own planet and realize that isn't true. Will they be disappointed with Earth the way it is now? Yeah, probably. But at least they'll be _alive_."

Kisshu hung his head thoughtfully. She made a very convincing argument. He had a feeling even Pai wouldn't have been able to refute her points. There was only one logical response. He walked over to her and kissed her deeply. "Arigato, okaminomimi-chan." (Thank you, wolf-ear girl.) He hugged her tightly and teleported.

* * *

As he let her go, she looked around and realized they were in her front yard. Kisshu floated up into the air and said, "Ja nei," (See you later) before disappearing through a ripple in space.

Her window was still open, and Ryou was replacing the screen he had assumed Kisshu had ripped off during the "kidnapping". When he saw the pair appear on the front lawn through the window, he left his work and ran downstairs.

* * *

Ember walked through the front door at 3:45 a.m. and into a living room full of; Ryou, Keiichiro, Raquel, Emma, Grace, Aimee, and Josué.

"Josué?" she frowned. "What are you still doing here?"

"Ember!" Emma ran to her, crying, and squeezed her so hard that breathing was made difficult. The other mews surrounded her as well.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" sighed Grace, tears of relief streaming down her face.

"Kisshu kidnapped you? So scary. What did he want?" Raquel fired off questions.

"Raquel," Aimee chided, "she's been through a lot. Give her a break from the third degree." The snake mew looked much different in her human form. Her hair, though still cut like a boy's, was light brown instead of black and lacked the serpentine pigtails. Her eyes were a somewhat dark blue, rather than a haunting hazel, and her pupils were no longer slit.

But the thing that was the most surprising to Ember was Josué's dark and tell-me-to-kill-him-and-I-will kind of voice when he asked, "What did he do to you?" The boy hadn't moved from the place where he stood by the loveseat, but didn't seem to care any less than any of the girls.

"So, what happened?" asked Ryou in his do-I-even-want-to-know? voice.

"I don't want to talk about it tonight," sighed Ember, rubbing one of her eyes. "I'm really tired. I haven't slept in over eighteen hours."

"Oh yeah," Raquel yawned. "Come to think of it, I'm tired too."

"You should totally get some rest then," Emma nodded, finally breaking the hug.

"Good night, Ember," Grace hugged her best friend gently. "I'm glad you're safe."

"G'night, boss!" Aimee saluted, winking.

"Thanks," Ember grinned at her friends. "Good night, boys." Ryou and Josué both looked at little uncomfortable with having to wait, but neither of them said anything. Each knew she needed her sleep.

Ember ascended the staircase to her bedroom, opened the door, and collapsed on her bed, giving in to her exhaustion before even changing into her pajamas.

* * *

Kisshu arrived in the green haze of their alternate dimension headquarters. He asked Pai, "Where's Gentiel?" Following the older Cyniclon's directions, he found Gentiel staring at various equations on the Global Reader.

"Gentiel," Kisshu stated, trying not to sound as pained as he felt, "I've done it. She doesn't want to fight anymore."

"Good," replied Gentiel.

Kisshu closed his eyes and teleported to his bed chamber, even though he didn't plan on sleeping. _"The only problem is… I don't feel like fighting anymore either."_

* * *

**Author: And so ends the first notebook. No worries readers. This means the story is about 34% finished. (Did you honestly think I'd leave you hanging at such a critical moment? Bah!) I have already written the entire second notebook, so it's just a matter of typing it up. I need to work more on the third one, or else this story will not have an ending. :O But summer break has started and I will be leaving for camp in a few weeks. (No computers allowed T.T) That should give me time to write if I bring my notebook with me. I know what to write, it's just a matter of putting it on paper. :/**

**Thanks for reading, and I appreciate reviews! :)**

**Kisshu: Whoa... How did I get here. Hey you, human, where am I?**

**Author: *squeals and glomps* **

**Kisshu: What the heck? Ouch! Why did you just bite my ear?**


	16. Burning Bridges

Kisshu was sitting on the steps that hovered in the green mist, guarded by four marble pillars. This place was the temple entryway, and it was the farthest place from where Pai sat tapping at the Global Reader, Taruto watching him while playing with his bolas.

In this place, Kisshu began to think. He thought about Ember's words, and about her God. She was so willing to put the battles behind her and bring peace. She wanted to love him, and even protect his people. He thought of his family that was currently light-years away. His mother, his father, his six brothers; they were all waiting for him. And Ember had even considered the things they might be feeling. Was this because her God allowed her to love her enemies?

Kisshu thought about Deep Blue and Blood Red, and how they had taught only hatred of the humans. He was always told that one side must meet its demise before the fighting stopped, but Ember had opened his eyes to a new possibility. Her words haunted him. _"Are you really going to make them wait until the end of this never ending war?"_ She was so sure that no one would ever win. But then again, how was he so sure that someone ever would?

And then it came. The weight of this crushing uncertainty bore down on him like an anvil. How did he know someone would win? What if this war never stopped? In the end, if he had to choose a side, would he choose his love or his people? _"But… why can't I choose both?"_ He now began to understand what Ember had meant when she had talked about making a place where they could belong. And then, he just _knew_ what he had to do.

Kisshu burst into the temple through the ever-open ripple into the spirit world. Gentiel displayed yet another emotion as he stood up in shock from where he had been kneeling. "Kisshu! What the heck are you doing here?"

Kisshu ignored the blond Ardenite and looked instead to the red orb that was giving off an aura of power. A dark shadow of a female form could be seen inside the large sphere.

Kisshu knelt down on one knee and spoke, "Mistress Blood Red, I find myself doubting your divinity." Gentiel frowned at Kisshu's words but didn't care if the idiot died, so he allowed him to continue. "If you will just this once prove yourself to me, I will never doubt you again. So please tell me, what will be the outcome of this war?"

His question was met with silence. Kisshu stared into the orb, as if the intensity of his gaze could coax her to speak, but silent she remained. "Are you not a goddess, that you don't know the future? For this is what your silence says to me," he stood up and yelled it, the act a direct defiance in her face. Gentiel seemed to remember the proper formalities upon Kisshu's actions and once again knelt in front of the sphere that contained his deity; the deity that still did not speak.

"Then I've decided," Kisshu said. And with these words, he departed in a ripple that shook the fate of the entire universe.

* * *

Ember woke up and looked at the clock. It said 10:30 a.m. She jumped out of bed, nearly falling onto the floor. Running to the mirror to fix her hair, she found a yellow sticky note with words scribbled across it in black ink. Ryou's chicken scratch handwriting: _"Keiichiro called the school this morning and told them you were sick. We figured you could use the sleep. – Ryou"_

She smiled. It was certainly nice of them. She really did need a day off. Her mind was too filled with problems of the intergalactic kind to even worry about those of math and science.

She walked over to her window, opened it, and prayed as the morning air caressed her face. _"God, the book of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time for war and a time for peace. I find myself wondering, how do we know which is which? When are we supposed to fight, and when do we lay down our weapons? Where do we draw the line?"_

She waited, listened, and was answered. _"You fight for peace. Indeed, you strive for peaceful relations with one another. But when someone begins to strive for other things at the cost of lives, you must fight to protect the peace. A time such as this is a time for war. But also make sure that you do not fight for the wrong reasons. You do not have a war to steal, kill and destroy. Rather, you fight to make sure no one does so."_

She thought of something Ryou had said to her a long time ago: _"You can't negotiate with them. It's best to wipe them out."_

Her responding prayer was, _"And if both sides are in the wrong?"_

The answer came again. _"Then both sides must be stopped."_

She gave a determined nod, and suddenly a wind whisked around her. When had she transformed? And here, this wind was changing her outfit. The material that had been off-white was now pure as new fallen snow, and it sparkled like snow in the sunlight. The current of air around her felt nice, and she gave into it. It picked her up and caressed her. It seemed to wash her skin and dive into her veins, flowing to her very heart. When she finally landed back on her bedroom floor, her body felt warm all over. On instinct, she snapped her fingers. Up rose a small, orange flame. "Pyrogenesis," she whispered.

Lone Wolf heard a voice say, _"Protect the peace."_ And then, quite suddenly, she was Ember again.

* * *

Ember was excited. She finally had a firm grip on her destiny. As she ran down the stairs to tell Ryou, she bumped into Emma who was on her way upstairs. "Hey, sis. I see lazybones finally got up."

Ember normally would have went off on the "lazybones" comment, but today had started out so wonderfully, she merely shook her head and said, "Good morning to you too, Emma."

But Emma was already back down the stairs yelling, "Hey everyone, Ember's up!"

When Ember reached the bottom of the stairs, she was surprised to find not only Keiichiro, Ryou and Emma waiting for her, but Josué as well. "Josué? Why are you here?" she frowned at him.

"I wanted to make sure my girl was okay," he muttered nonchalantly.

"You must have the wrong house," she snapped back. "Shelbie doesn't live here."

Josué looked perturbed by that comment, and Ryou chided Ember. "Now Mew Lone Wolf, we can't have you starting arguments with your newest teammate."

Ember looked at Ryou aghast and then glared at her ex-boyfriend. "What?" she exclaimed.

"You heard him, Ember. I'm your new teammate." Josué's posture oozed arrogance, as did his tone of voice. He was enjoying this.

As Josué rose from his seat in the wingback chair, Ryou explained, "Josué agreed to keep our secret if we let him on the team. He has seven years of martial arts experience and knows how to use a flamethrower. It's actually a good bargain, being as you so vehemently rejected his other request."

As Josué walked toward her, Ember looked up at him with eyes that shone with the unasked question. _"Why…?"_

Her new team member leaned down and whispered into her ear, "This way, I can keep an eye on you." Then he turned to the others. "I guess I'll be going now. Make sure you take good care of her."

"We will," Ryou replied. As soon as Josué was out the door, Ryou asked, "So what did Kisshu want?"

"Want? Nothing," she responded. Ryou narrowed his eyes at her, but she met his glare with a fake (albeit very convincing) stare of confusion. This made Ryou doubt himself and blink. Ember then smiled and said very excitedly, "Guess what happened this morning."

"What?" asked Keiichiro in a pleasant tone of voice as Ryou stared at her with uncertainty.

She proceeded to snap her fingers. The men's eyes widened as they stared at the little flame that had flickered to life there. "Isn't it neat?" asked Ember in a happy voice.

"Wow! That's cool!" exclaimed Emma. "But… didn't you guys say she needed a lighter or something?" the girl with the brunette hair inquired of the two scientists.

"How…?" Ryou trailed off.

She smirked at him. "I told you my abilities were a gift from God. This happened when I was praying this morning." She let the fire die out, but Ryou still stared at her hand. Ember turned to walk back up the stairs, but before leaving she tossed over her shoulder, "Ryou, you said we couldn't negotiate with the aliens." When he nodded, she continued, "Exactly how many times have you tried?"

"Try?" Ryou raised an eyebrow. "We didn't have to try. If diplomacy were possible, they would have asked someone about it. Instead, they made a preemptive strike."

"So…" Ember turned back around, "you're telling me you've never actually talked to them?"

"Of course not! Ember, they…!" Ryou hung his head and appeared very vulnerable.

Keiichiro nodded and prodded him to continue. "It's time they knew."

Ryou reluctantly went on. "… They killed my parents."

The two girls were quite shocked. They sat down on the loveseat together as Keiichiro and Ryou told them of that fateful night nine years ago. Two pairs of brown eyes were hanging on every word.

When they had finished, Emma was the first to speak. "We will definitely make them pay!" she held up a clenched fist. "Right, Ember?"

Ember just sat there with her head in her hands, forcing back the tears. This story told her what she needed to know. "Ryou," she asked, raising her head to look him in the eyes, "what's your real reason for fighting them?" He looked a little taken aback. Ember stood as she finished, "Are you truly looking out for the best interests of Earth, or is this all merely the revenge of a ten-year-old boy?"

Ryou stared daggers at her as she ascended the staircase. _"What is wrong with her? She has never questioned me before. Does this have something to do with that guy she is seeing? The one she won't tell me about… What does she have to hide, anyway?"_ And then it hit him. _"No. No! It can't be that! She wouldn't betray her planet like that… would she?"_

* * *

Ember closed the bedroom door behind her and breathed the words her spirit had heard earlier, "Then both sides must be stopped… But… do I really have to do it alone?"

She sat down on the foot of her bed and prayed that someone, anyone, would decide to help her with this endeavor. It was something that was simply too big be accomplished by only one person.

The answer to her prayer suddenly appeared on the other side of the brass footboard, the air rippling away from this person like water in a pond away from a raindrop. He spoke, "I am ready to join you, and to serve your God. Right now, I believe this is what is best for my people, and what is best for us." He was kneeling on one knee, right hand over his heart, eyes downcast. It was the first time she had ever seen him so humble. And what he had just said changed everything.

She stood from the bed, walked around to him, and kneeled before him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. A tear of gratitude trailed down her cheek as she whispered, "Kisshu… thank you."


	17. Cynicism and Sickness

Kisshu folded Ember into his arms and kissed her. The world spun like his tongue in her mouth, and breathing was difficult for her even after he pulled away.

"Kisshu," she panted dizzily, "what did you mean by those words?"

"I did exactly what my comrades feared," he told her. "I don't want to take over the Earth now. Instead, I want what is best for my people; the quickest solution possible.

"And I want you. I want you to be safe and happy. I understand now what you meant about making a place for us to be together.

"And if your God allows us to love each other, then this is the God I want to serve. And if your God cares for my people as much as you claim to, then they should be happy to serve Him as well."

* * *

Ryou looked in the mirror of the downstairs bathroom, touching the grey tufts of fur that were barely sticking out of his hair. _"They must be attached to nerve endings, because it tickles."_ His ears were coming in, but you could only see them if you looked closely.

When he walked back to his room, he heard Ember talking to someone in her bedroom. He turned back to the steps and began his ascent.

* * *

"Kisshu…" Ember's eyes were brimming with joyful tears.

"Because of this, they won't let me stay with them anymore," he explained. Then he gave her a playful smirk. "That means we're going to have to live together kawaii-chan."

"What?" she looked up at him in shock. _"Oh, Ryou's not going to be happy about this."_

"Someone's coming," Kisshu turned his head to the door. And at that moment…

Ryou slammed the door against the wall. "Ember, who are you talking t-" he cut the question short upon seeing a green-haired alien with amber-colored eyes holding Ember in his lap. His face turned red, and then he exploded. "EMBER! WHAT THE HECK IS _HE_ DOING HERE?"

"Ryou, calm down," the auburn-haired girl attempted.

"I WILL NOT _CALM DOWN_!" Ryou yelled. He bared his canine teeth and hissed, his claws protruding from his fingertips. He looked ready to pounce.

Ember rolled her eyes and stood up, looking the angry feline-boy in the eyes. She snapped her fingers, and a roar of flames caught Ryou's attention. "Yes, _you will_," Ember growled through gritted teeth.

"Ember, you…" Ryou glared at her.

"I listened to your side of the story, now it's your turn to listen to mine," she explained. "You said that you never even tried diplomacy before, so what is wrong with trying it now?"

"Ember, _that_ is not diplomacy. That is-" Ryou began, but she cut him off by clearing her throat.

"We have always been fighting. What if the reason diplomacy has never been an option is because neither side will talk to the other like the civilized creatures we are? And yeah, Kisshu's kind may have started the fighting first, but didn't we just strike back without asking, 'Hey, what's up? Why are you doing this?'? Wars are never the fault of just one faction. It takes two sides to make a fight. Own up to your own actions and stop being a hypocrite."

"Ember, we are fighting to protect everyone on the Earth," Ryou countered. "Why don't you think a little more about that?"

She shot right back at him, "And did you ever stop to think about what _they _might be trying to protect?"

Ryou blinked. _"This girl… It's like talking to a confident Retasu. She always had arguments like this too but never actually pushed her point. But this Ember…"_

It was then that Kisshu spoke, still sitting on the floor. "Ember has opened my eyes to how foolish we have been. It's not like this war will ever stop if we just continue to fight. And if we did manage to destroy Earth enough to make it uninhabitable for humans, would our people really want to live on such a woebegone world? Iie." (No.) He stood and looked at the man behind the Mews. They were of the same age, but of very different worlds. "So… Why can't we try getting along? It's better for my side, and it's better for yours, neh?"

Ryou wasn't about to drop his prejudice based on this. But the blond was smart, and he could see it was either let Kisshu stay, or suffer agony from flames and sai. Crossing his arms, he grumbled, "Fine, he can stay," before leaving the room. As he walked down the stairs, he reasoned, _"It might be better to have one here to keep an eye on anyways."_

* * *

As soon as Ryou left, Kisshu turned to Ember and asked with a sad smile, "I guess we're both in the same ship now, eh?" Ember nodded, and he sighed, "At least if we crash, we crash together."

She smiled sadly in response, taking his hands in hers. Then she laughed as she remembered, "Kisshu, this is my destiny. We won't fail. We can't."

He smiled at the implication. _"I'm her destiny, eh? I like the sound of that."_

Ember and Kisshu talked quietly in her bedroom for a long time. Now that he was staying, she wanted to settle a few things.

"Okay, so what kind of food do you like?" she asked.

"Um… I don't really know what humans eat… My kind doesn't have to eat as often as yours does. A snack about once a week should more than cover it," he explained.

"Seriously?" she inquired.

"Of course," he nodded. Then his voice took on a sadder tone. "It's an adaptation of my race due to the scarcity of food on our planet… The ones that required more usually died before reproducing."

"Oh…" she frowned sympathetically.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I don't have to sleep much either. I can usually go for several months before having to do that."

"Wow," she raised her eyebrows.

"So at night," he looked at her with his amber eyes, and she was washed in an emotion as thick and sweet as honey, "I'll protect you."

* * *

"Kisshu has betrayed us," Gentiel's cold voice echoed throughout the green haze. Pai and Taruto stared at him wordlessly. "He has been banished by Mistress Blood Red for his treason and henceforth is an exile. We must find a method of punishment for the traitor."

The place was quiet for a long moment, and then Pai spoke. "I may have something. And not only would it be a good punishment for Kisshu, but it would also weaken our enemy."

Gentiel's hazel eyes darkened slightly. "Continue, Pai."

* * *

Kisshu was lying in bed with his okamino-chan, watching her sleep. He played with one of the slight curls in her hair, twisting it around his finger and bringing the tendril to his nose, inhaling deeply. His senses were sharper than a human's, and he breathed in the scent of the girl that had agreed to be his. This scent was mostly the musk of her sweat and body oils, but underneath was something as spicy as cinnamon and as pleasing as a bonfire. He stared at the back of her head and found that this small contact was not enough.

Slipping his arms around her waist, he pulled her flush up against himself and sighed at the comfort of her warmth. He buried his face into her hair and inhaled again, then pulled it away and stared up at the ceiling, high on this feeling. The stucco patterns of strange, floral-looking swirls danced before his eyes, all similar but none exactly the same. He felt safe with her next to him; confident that whatever tomorrow would bring, he could face it without fear.

It had been three months since he had slept last, and with her cozy and comforting warmth beside him, he allowed his eyes to slide closed. He was quickly asleep.

* * *

Taruto had watched through the window, sitting in the conveniently placed cherry blossom tree. With an awkward looking smirk on his pre-teen face, he transported into the other dimension. "Pai," he whispered, mind still set in the mode for quiet lurking. "I didn't have to lure him away at all. Kisshu fell asleep."

"We have the Mistress' blessing tonight," replied Pai in a firm voice. With those words, he teleported into Ember's bedroom.

Pai pulled a test tube from his sleeve and held it up in the moonlight. The vial appeared empty, but appearances can't be trusted. Inside this tube of glass was a specially developed pathogen with an incredibly fast incubation period. The germ was designed specifically for its host's DNA.

The leader of the Mews slept soundly, and Pai allowed a small smirk to play on his lips. He uncorked the vial, holding it under her nose and watching her breathe in her own doom. It would weaken her quickly, but it would kill her slowly. Her last three months would be ones of intense pain and anguish, and Kisshu would be there to witness it all. The bond would break with her death, and Kisshu would no longer have a reason to fraternize with humans.

* * *

The next morning, Kisshu awoke at sunrise. Ember had told him to wake her up at seven so she could get ready for school. He glanced at the clock on her bedside table. She had another hour to sleep. He grinned and turned his head to look at her face, and what he saw reversed the direction of his lips.

She looked pale (at least by human standards). She was shivering, but when he touched her, her skin was hot and clammy. With his sensitive ears he could tell that she was struggling to breathe normally. And her whole body reeked of illness.

What was wrong with her? She had been perfectly fine last night. He shook her gently and whispered, "Okamino-chan, wake up." No response. "Come on, kawaii-chan, open your eyes." Nothing. Her shook her harder and spoke more loudly, "Okaminomimi-chan! Lone Wolf, wake up, please!" He lowered his voice to a desperate plea, the tears that were brimming in his eyes seeping into the sound, "Ember…"

She had been healthy only the night before. What could possibly have caused this change? And then he knew. "Pai," he said darkly. The older, smarter, science-minded Cyniclon had done this. How did he know? Pai had left the evidence on one of the blankets. It was the smell of ice, grapes, and sterilizing alcohol; Pai's scent.

* * *

Ryou woke up with a heightened sense of hearing. He knew from that and that alone that his ears had come in overnight. Actually, now that he thought about it, he had been awoken by a sound. He glanced at the clock on his desk across the room. It was 6:02 a.m. Then he heard the sound again; a voice.

"Ember…" the voice was male and sounded on the verge of tears. It was coming from upstairs. The voice darkened until it was cold and hard on the next word, "Pai."

And then Ryou sat up in shock as he remembered that Kisshu was living with him. He jumped out of bed and dashed up the stairs in nothing but his boxer shorts.

He burst through her bedroom door and found the green-haired alien sitting in Ember's bed next to her, sobbing with a worried look on his face. Kisshu's golden eyes met Ryou's blue ones, tears streaming down his face as he mumbled, "She won't wake up."

"It's six-o'-three in the morning! I don't blame her. _I_ don't want to be up now either," Ryou exclaimed before looking at Ember's face. Once he did, the pallor resting there made him understand. He walked over and knelt down beside her, touching her hand. The fever was obvious. He spat at Kisshu, "What did you do to her?"

"_I_ didn't do anything. Pai did this. I caught his scent right there," Kisshu pointed to a spot on the bed a few inches away from Ryou's elbow. "Why do you have cat ears?" Kisshu inquired.

"None of your business!" Ryou hissed back. "And why should I trust anything you say?"

"Because you don't have any other choice, really. It's not as if cynicism of your only witness will help you figure out what's wrong," he replied. Ryou scoffed, so Kisshu began to speak out of self-defense. "I'm telling you, she was fine last night, but when I woke up this morning she-"

"Wait, let me get this straight?" Ryou stopped him. "You can levitate. I know this because I've seen you do it before. You could have slept on the ceiling and instead you slept in the same bed with her?" The cat-eared scientist was getting even more peeved.

Kisshu flinched. "Hai," (yes) he answered in Japanese. Resuming English, he explained, "The bed is more comfortable than the ceiling… But I'm telling you, I didn't do this! I don't even know _how_ to do this!"

"Really?" Ryou's voice was thick with suspicion.

Kisshu shrugged. "Studying is boring. I rarely do any of it. And when I do I tend to focus more on social customs, not biology."

Ryou read the alien's body language. _"He doesn't seem to be lying. And he was crying when I came in. Why would he cry if he had wanted this to happen to her? Why would he cry if he was the one who had done this? And more importantly, why would he stick around afterwards?"_

"I will do everything in my power to help Ember," Kisshu's voice was stern and resolute, as were his eyes, and it knocked Ryou out of his musings.

Like it or not, Ryou believed him. There was just one question. "Why?"

"Because," Kisshu stated simply, "she is my lifemate."

Ryou let out a feral feline hiss. "You're wrong! You were this way with Ichigo too; I know because she told me. Don't you think it's time you stopped claiming things that aren't yours?"

Kisshu slid off the opposite side of the bed and stood, turning to face Ryou. "I learned my lesson the first time, _Earth boy_. In fact, I was prepared for it to happen again; prepared to have a reason to take my own life and leave both planets better off."

Ryou stared at him curiously, wondering, _"Isn't that a bit melodramatic?"_

Kisshu then gazed lovingly at Ember's face as he continued, "But things didn't happen the way I expected… I owe that girl my life, and I plan to give it to her."

Ryou's grey cat ears twitched. _"Melodramatic or not, he seems so serious. But I'm not about to pardon his race for the death of my parents over something like this little heart-to-heart. It will take more than that for me to rethink things. _

"_However… I suppose I'll keep him around for now. If Pai did this, maybe Kisshu can fix it. I don't trust him by any means of the word, but I have no other choice than to try."_

* * *

The two boys filled Keiichiro in on everything. (He was already up to start preparing the French crepes he planned to make for breakfast.) The brunette sighed and played idly with his ponytail near the nape of his neck, a habit he had formed to deal with worry. They had already called her in sick yesterday, so it wouldn't seem suspicious.

Keiichiro Akasaka dialed the number of the school's office and informed the receptionist, "Yes, Ember's still sick today. If anything, I'm afraid it's gotten worse."


	18. More Problems

**Author: Sorry I didn't update yesterday guys! My mom dragged me all over the place and I wasn't home until 10:30 p.m. Then my dad wouldn't let me use the computer until 11:15, and by then I was too tired to type. And this chapter is looonngg. Enjoy!**

* * *

"So, Kisshu…" Ryou asked, still mistrusting of the green-haired Cyniclon, "What exactly did you do to Ember last night?"

Kisshu's mind went straight to the gutter, but he figured he'd be honest in order to gain his new housemate's trust, as awkward as this topic was. The alien raised an eyebrow, "I gave her a hug."

"And you're sure that's all?" Ryou asked suspiciously. He was determined to prove his prejudice right.

"My kind isn't like yours. We can't 'do things' without severe emotional consequences," Kisshu's voice was as hard and cold as ice.

Ryou stepped back as he realized what Kisshu had thought he was implying. His cat ears twitched in embarrassment. Such thoughts hadn't occurred to him, or if they had he had been too scared to ask.

But the other thought that had never occurred to him was the racial difference at which Kisshu seemed to be hinting. The Cyniclon was giving him a death glare, and Ryou figured it was for asking 'too personal' of a question, even though he hadn't asked one in the first place. _"Is it possible?"_ he mused. _"Is the biology of his race more closely connected to their emotions than ours?"_

"I did do one thing that I regret last night," Kisshu murmured quietly, ending the glare of hatred.

Ryou only heard him for the sharpness of his new feline hearing. His reply was quick and scalding. "What?"

Kisshu swallowed guiltily. When he opened his mouth, the liquid of unshed tears had seemed to gather in his vocal chords, making his voice harder to understand. "I fell asleep."

Then Kisshu teleported away. Ryou cursed under his breath. These reminders of his inhumanity aggravated him all the more.

* * *

Kisshu reappeared in Ember's bedroom. He crawled onto the bed and sat there, rubbing her back soothingly. _"I had forgotten that humans are so weak. Why did I fall asleep? I should have been protecting her! I told her that I would…"_

Ryou then entered the room with a little glass vial. "What are you doing?" they both asked each other at the same time.

"Rubbing her back," Kisshu admitted. "I'm not sure what else to do. I don't know how humans work."

"Well I do," said Ryou in a scornful tone, "and _I'm_ figuring out what's wrong with her." Kisshu watched as the scientist took Ember's finger and quickly pierced the skin with a needle. A drop of blood formed on her fingertip and Ryou tapped it into the vial. He squeezed her fingertip, milking it for two more drops of blood. Then he left the room.

Kisshu just looked at her pale, sweaty face. The painful frown that rested there broke his heart. He had failed to protect her after telling her he would do so. "No." He shook his head. "Now is not the time to be beating myself up over this. I told cat-guy I'd do whatever I could to help; I have to, in order to atone for my shortcomings. And I can't do that by just sitting here." Kisshu knew what he had to do, and just the idea of it made him shudder. Kisshu Ikisatashi was going to have to… study.

He teleported into the living room and located Keiichiro, who was in the kitchen. "Where is the…" he paused to remember the humans' name for it, "computer?"

Keiichiro blinked. "Why?" The baking-savvy brunette was still somewhat suspicious of Kisshu as well.

"I want to help," was the alien's simple reply. "To do that, I need to know how humans work… biologically."

"Right…" Keiichiro Akasaka had a small mental flash of things that Kisshu could end up doing on the internet, and decided to play it safe. "Follow me," he smiled in a gentlemanly manner.

Kisshu followed Keiichiro to his bedroom, the theme of which was classical and maroon. The older man led him to a bookshelf where he pulled out several volumes. One was a high-school biology textbook, the next was a high-school anatomy textbook, then a college anatomy textbook, a book on various medical conditions and treatments, a chemistry textbook, and finally a book with the title "An Introduction to Biochemistry."

Keiichiro handed the thick and heavy stack to Kisshu and said with a polite smile, "These are books, and they should contain all of the information you need to know." The brunette was surprised that the stick-figure of a Cyniclon was holding 120 pounds of paper like it was nothing. "The information in these is more likely to be accurate," he continued. "Book writers have to fact-check, as non-fiction titles go through rigorous testing before being printed. Computers oftentimes have inaccurate information posted by someone who has no idea what they're talking about."

Kisshu nodded and thanked him. He then teleported back up to Ember's room and sat on the floor next to her footboard, the same spot in which he had kissed her only yesterday. It was there that he opened the book on medical conditions and treatments, figuring it best to learn how to do something first. There was a lot of terminology he didn't recognize. "Check and see if the lymph nodes are swollen… What's a lymph node?" He skimmed the rest of the page and found other words he didn't know, such as; esophagus, trachea, gall bladder, and hypoglycemia. Frustrated, he closed the book.

He would have given up under normal circumstances, but the sound of Ember's raspy breathing goaded him on. He picked up the anatomy book for high-school students. In the book's introduction, it talked about things that should have been learned the previous years in biology and chemistry. So Kisshu made an aggravated noise and grabbed the textbook of high-school biology, and finally found some normal words.

He began to read, changing his position several times for comfort. Throughout the day, he was; sprawled on his stomach on the bedroom floor, curled up in Ember's bed next to her, sitting cross-legged on the top of her dresser, floating in the air in various poses, and even hanging by his knees from the shower curtain rod in her bathroom. He would repeat this process with the other books for the next week and a half, not stopping to eat or sleep. If he was going to repay his mistake, he would have to be the one to fix whatever was wrong with her.

* * *

And what was wrong with her was something that Ryou still didn't know. The blood he had drawn and looked at under the microscope definitely contained some sort of pathogen, but he couldn't figure out what kind. The structure was that of a virus, but it was able to reproduce on its own like a bacteria. It was a strange virus that somehow met the four conditions of life.

He rubbed the top of his nose near his sinuses, trying to get his brain to work. _"This is a brand new virus. It can reproduce without having to rely on its host's cells." _His head shot up in realization as he ran back to check the microscope again. "But it still reproduces with its host's cells as well," he started thinking aloud. "It's like a cross between a virus and a bacterium, and if that's the case it may be treatable with antibiotics!" He dashed across the lab in the basement where they kept the strongest, most cutting-edge medications. He grabbed a bag of penicillin drip and an IV pole, and then rushed upstairs as quickly as the awkward metal object would allow him, trying to keep his claws in to avoid bursting the bag of liquid.

Finally in Ember's bedroom, Ryou set up the IV of antibiotics and got it into her system. It would take a few days for the liquid to work, if it did at all. The only problem was that Ryou knew if it didn't work, it would probably only make the virus worse.

* * *

As Kisshu finished reading the textbooks, the antibiotics worked their way through Ember's system, and she slowly regained consciousness. The alien had just closed the back cover of, "An Introduction to Biochemistry" when her big brown eyes finally fluttered open.

Kisshu had been floating fairly close to the ceiling, but the instant he saw her eyes open he dropped the book and was at her side. She looked up into his face as he held her in his arms.

"Okamino-chan, you're finally awake," he smiled at her, choking back joyful tears.

"What happened?" she looked at the clock groggily. "It's eleven a.m. Oh-no. I'm gonna be late for school." She tried to rise, but fell backwards into his arms.

Kisshu's smile vanished. "Okamino-chan, don't try to move yet. You've been unconscious for ten days."

"I have?" she slurred. She looked at him again, and this time he noticed her eyes were hazy. Her body swayed a little. "Why?"

"Pai did this to you," Kisshu was angry; at Pai, and at himself. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and without their support Ember collapsed onto her pillow.

"The pie? I didn't eat any pie…" she mumbled as her eyes drifted closed.

"Okaminomimi-chan! Please, stay awake!" Kisshu shook her gently and her eyes fluttered open again. He decided to go and get Ryou. The human would probably know what to do. "I'll be right back, Ember. Just try to stay awake for me, okay?" She gave a little moan and a small nod, and he vanished in a ripple of air.

He appeared in the lab where Ryou stood staring into the microscope. "Ryou! She's awake!" Kisshu shouted, startling the blond enough to cause him to jump and hiss.

Ryou's cat ears flattened to his skull and he whirled on Kisshu, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that?"

"Huh? Did I scare you? Gomen," (Sorry) Kisshu chuckled. "I keep forgetting."

Ryou scowled because Kisshu had seen his fear. The nekomimi knew that as he became more and more feline, less and less human, it became harder and harder to hide his emotions. His feline self was very protective of his Mews, especially Ember. He wasn't sure why she was the exception, but lately he had been attributing it to her illness.

Then he realized what Kisshu had said. "She's awake?" he asked incredulously. Kisshu nodded, and Ryou dashed up the stairs like mad.

The time-space continuum reopened around Kisshu and swallowed him, spitting him out next to Ember. He lay down beside her, propping his head up on his elbow, and used his other hand to stroke her hair. Her brown eyes stared back at him in a daze. Then Ryou burst through the door, slightly out of breath.

The blond nekomimi checked her over. She still had a fever. Her face was red instead of pale. Was that better or worse? He tried to get her to follow his finger with her eyes, but whether she wasn't able to focus them or wasn't able to hear his instructions, he didn't know.

Even though she was awake, she was as vulnerable as a sleepy toddler. The thing that bothered Ryou the most about it was the person she trusted like it was nothing. Ember was leaning against Kisshu's arm and cooing some indecipherable slur of words. She even snuggled into the Cyniclon's chest. Here she was, totally unguarded before the enemy, and Ryou was disgusted by it. He took a blood sample and left quickly.

Kisshu still lay on the bed an hour later, his head now resting on the pillow, the very thing that Ember seemed to believe his chest was. As she lay there with her head on him, she was mumbling various little cute little phrases in slurred speech. Most were compliments, and his name. "Kisshu… Kisshu, Kisshu…" she poked him gently in the ribs. It kind of tickled. "Kisshu is… sexy…" He looked down at the top of her head. "Kisshu is a nice alien. Kisshu has pretty eyes." She turned her head and looked up at him, eyes meeting his, smiling, unashamed and unguarded. She looked totally innocent and trusting. It was so unlike her. "Kisshu," she said.

It took him a minute to realize that she was addressing him now rather than mumbling to herself. "Hn?" he prompted her to continue.

"You tried to steal my spirit once, didn't you?" she asked, eyes sparkling.

"Okamino-chan…" he was hurt that it seemed she didn't really trust him, even in this state.

"You failed," she giggled. "You got my heart instead."

Kisshu's jaw dropped a little, and he felt his heart skip a beat. She was trying to be flirty even when she was out of her head. He would have treasured the words she had just said if she hadn't been in a state of feverish delirium when she said them. But her illness made the sentiment bittersweet. He broke the eye contact and stared up at the ceiling, biting his lower lip. He was worried about her.

For no other reason than because he wanted to, he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead; the forehead that was burning up. "I love you, kawaii-chan," he whispered. She smiled and squeezed her eyes shut, burying her face into his shirt and letting out a happy moan. And sooner than he realized, she was sleeping again.

* * *

Wild Tigress (Emma) led the Mews in Lone Wolf's absence. It was definitely a change, and not one that En Pointe was sure she much liked. The girl with white tiger ears and tail was much more spontaneous than their former leader. En Pointe was uncomfortable with the lack of planning. A lot of times, En Pointe's ribbon would hit a Chimera at the same time that Wild Tigress encased it in ice, and the Anima was freed when the attacks collided.

Wild Tigress was clearly every bit as much of a dunce as Emma. (Perhaps there wasn't room in such a small brain for two mindsets?) The only thing that seemed to change was her appearance. Long, brown hair became a short and choppy bob the color of highlighter ink. Brown eyes became a shade of green so neon that classifying it was difficult. Was it really green, or was it yellow? Her ribbon-strap, bubble skirt mini-dress was the same color, as were her; armbands, garter, and knee high boots. She had a cat-toothed smile that told everyone not to worry, but En Pointe found her instructions hard to follow.

"_My best friend is bed-ridden, aliens are trying to conquer the world, and I'm not supposed to worry? Yeah right!"_

Josué would have made a better leader, even if the swan mew still hated his guts for what he did to Ember. If it wasn't for Josué roasting the parasites with his blowtorch after every battle, the monsters would all just respawn and all their hard work would be for nothing. He turned one such parasite into ash now, as the battle was finally over.

The team ducked into an alley and untransformed, tired from fighting. Josué took off his disguise for his hero persona, the Black Knight. He removed black leather combat boots, black leather pants, and a black leather trench coat, all of which were covered in a flame-retardant solution. (The trench coat also had a blowtorch rigged into one of the sleeves.) He also removed gloves made of the same protective material as the rest of the clothes. The last of his ensemble was a pair of mirror-lens sunglasses which – not only hid his eyes for disguising purposes, but – protected his vision from the blinding brightness of the searing flames. He stood in the alley in a grey T-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts.

Aimee, Grace and Raquel all looked away the instant he began to change. Emma, however, had no such qualms. She just stared at him and grinned, "So you're the guy they handcuffed to the bed, right?"

"Uh yeah, I am," Josué answered shamelessly, unaffected by the downward direction of her gaze.

Grace's scientific mind had been particularly observant during the past few battles. She asked no one in particular, "Did anyone else notice that the past three battles have all been against those giant slug-like Chimeras?"

"Yes, I did!" piped Raquel. "They kind of remind of Bob from 'Monsters vs. Aliens'. You know… if Bob was five stories tall."

Aimee blinked her blue eyes and used her hand to push back her short, sandy brown hair. "Yeah, I have noticed that too. Those are the only kind I have fought with you guys. The training session I had with Emma said there should have been a host to these monsters, but so far there hasn't been."

"It's weird," Grace agreed. "They need to have a host or else they're just a parasite… They have to be attached to _something_. Maybe… Maybe it's just something that's too small for us to see!"

"Like, a germ or something?" Raquel inquired.

"Yes. Something microscopic like that. But… Why would they want something like that? It's getting a lot easier for us to beat them; you'd think they would switch it up. What properties does this organism have that they want to use so badly?" Grace asked, thinking aloud. But the only response she received… was silence.

Grace was concerned. Something was up. The aliens had developed some sort of strategy, and she didn't know what. So then, how did they counteract it? She sighed, losing herself in her thoughts. _"Ember was always good at figuring stuff out. We could really use her help right about now. I wonder if she's gotten any better._

"_Gosh dang it! I'm worried… And if Emma tells me not to worry one more time, we'll just have to see if having nine lives applies to tigers as well as cats."_

* * *

Ryou stared intently at the microscope, observing what the virus in this new blood sample did without the presence of antibiotics. To his horror, it only got worse. He put some of the penicillin drip into the blood on the slide and watched a lot of the viral spores die off. Then something even more terrible happened. Right before his eyes, the virus mutated and began to reproduce through the penicillin! The medicine was now _helping_ the virus make the healthy cells sick.

Another realization hit him. This sample had forgone exposure to the antibiotic while the rest of Ember's body was still hooked onto the IV fluid. During this small amount of time the virus in this sample spent defending itself against nothing, the virus in Ember's body was still changing defenses. Did this mean that the virus still in her body had already mutated?

He rushed upstairs to find Ember once again unconscious. The evidence seemed to speak for itself, but he took another blood sample to be sure.

Back in the basement lab, he slid the sample under the microscope, anxious concern causing his feline ears to twitch rapidly, several times. Sure enough, the virus in this sample had already mutated. He swore in Japanese and slammed his fist onto the tabletop, the sound of stricken metal echoing off the walls.


	19. Suspense

Ryou studied the viral disease even closer over the next six weeks. (During this time, he also grew a tail.) He was startled to discover that this disease had been specially engineered to affect only Ember. The DNA of the virus contained her DNA as well. And what was weirder, the virus actually had _DNA_. Most only had RNA. This was no ordinary illness, and Ryou soon found out that it couldn't be treated like one.

He had tried anti-viral medication, but that was useless because the virus produced independently and quickly. He had then decided to test any further theories on blood samples, not wanting to make things worse for Ember. His test results found no cure. He had tried; radiation, lasers, organic herbal remedies, steroids, hormones, and even illegal substances. Nothing worked. It seemed that the disease was truly incurable. He went upstairs for yet another time to give Kisshu bad news.

* * *

En Pointe was startled that this Chimera wasn't a slug. Bolt Noir was excited by the new enemy and rushed forward, arrow at the ready. The metal barb flew, and the canine-like beast caught it like a dog playing fetch. When she tried to strike it with lightning, the Anima deflected the bolt with its paw. En Pointe found this strange, but rushed at the beast with her energy ribbon. The ribbon bounced off its hide like a rubber ball off pavement, leaving no damage.

This Chimera was not impervious to her sound attacks, however. One blast of a wave of noise and the creature shrieked in agony, throwing its paws over its ears. Wild Tigress encased the entire Chimera in a mountain of ice, excepting its left front paw. Diamondback went to this paw and one of the serpentine pigtails bit, injecting a high dose of a fast-acting and lethal venom. The Chimera dissolved into a German Shepherd and a parasite, both trapped in an icy cage. En Pointe hit the ice with her ribbon, causing it to shatter like glass. The Black Knight turned his blowtorch on and incinerated the parasite as the dog ran and licked Bolt Noir in the face.

"See you guys! We must be getting better, 'cause that was cake!" smiled their temporary leader.

"It was easy… too easy…" Diamondback narrowed her haunting eyes.

"I noticed that too," En Pointe nodded at Diamondback, conveying their mutual understanding.

"It wasn't easy for me," Bolt Noir stated, stretching the stiff muscles in her neck as the German Shepherd stood next to her.

En Pointe furrowed her blonde brow in thought, her mindset melding with Grace's more often now, as though the two entities were becoming one. _"Come to think of it, my ribbon had no affect either. What are the aliens planning?"_

* * *

Ryou opened the door to Ember's bedroom. Kisshu sat on Ember's bed, stroking her hair. Ryou went and sat in the wood and wicker chair that was now forever stationed at her bedside and looked up into the Cyniclon's eerie golden eyes.

"I'm out of options," the scientist began, his tail flicking in annoyance. "I can't help her. I've tried everything, even things I wasn't supposed to. I can't fix this… Can't cure it…" he trailed off, sniffling and trying to keep from crying. After all he'd done, he still couldn't save her. "I'm sorry," his voice broke.

"I suppose you have your limits, but thanks for trying all the same," Kisshu said a little sadly, not wanting to recognize the full meaning of Ryou's words.

"I wasn't apologizing to you!" Ryou hissed. He glanced at the still sleeping Ember, then got up and left the room, unable to handle his failure. He had involved her in this war, and now her death would be entirely his fault.

* * *

The Mews were breathing easily again, when suddenly another Chimera appeared, roaring like a lion. It looked like one too; large and white with strange scaly skin, but yet it was built like a feline and had a ring of horns around its head that resembled a mane. It had sharp claws and a black, forked tongue. The Black Knight swore and fell backwards at the frightening creature's roar. The Anima was four stories tall and swiped a ten-foot-wide paw at the Mews.

Wild Tigress, Bolt Noir, and En Pointe all jumped back. But Diamondback let herself be caught, a plan already forming in her mind. Once in the Anima's grasp, she readied her fangs and bit down on one of its toes with all her might. As she felt the poison liquid surge out of her teeth, a feeling of clever victory surged through her in much the same way. But when her venom stopped, so did this feeling of triumph. The Chimera Anima raised its white, scaly tail and shook it. On the tail's tip was a rattle which wiggled noisily.

It took a lot to make Mew Diamondback panic. This made her panic, melding minds with Aimee. "Guys, it's immune to my venom!" she screamed. The snake mew was already aware that her telepathy didn't work on Chimeras, as they were mindless puppets of their creators. Her venom was the thing on which she relied in every battle. Now that this monster wasn't affected by it, she was totally defenseless.

* * *

Kisshu stared at her face, which was now as pale as his own. To think that such weakness was caused by such a small pathogen. It was then that the effect of Ryou's words hit him at full force, and he couldn't stand it. As he thought about the death of the girl that had agreed to love him, he was filled was rage. Rage at Pai for infecting her. Rage at Ryou for his inability to cure her. Rage at himself for not protecting her properly. But most of all, rage at this stupid parasite that was sucking the life out of her! Parasite? Parasite…

That's right. He had learned it from those books. Any virus that humans contracted was considered a parasite. And if Kisshu knew about anything, it was parasites. He got an idea; a crazy idea. But sometimes crazy is exactly what you need.

* * *

Wild Tigress leapt into the fight to save her comrade, blasting the Anima with ice. But the ice melted off of the Chimera with a sizzling sound, smelling of acid. The dunce leader was not affected by this defeat. She called for her nunchuks, running at the creature. With an energetic and playful shout, she thwacked the monster on the leg with her weapons. Needless to say, this did nothing but tick the Chimera off, as a chain with wooden rods on either end is not a practical tool with which to fight such an enormous foe.

En Pointe flew in with her glowing ribbon. "Plié! Grande jeté! Pirouette!" The parasite separated from its _two_ hosts and Diamondback fell to the ground. The girls stared at the hosts while the Black Knight turned the symbiote into cinders. There stood a lion, and right next to it coiled an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake.

En Pointe once again furrowed her brow. The aliens were planning something big, and she believed that she knew what it was. "I need to talk to Ryou," she said darkly. Diamondback gave her a nod of agreement, and Bolt Noir merely stared at the two animals in front of them, slightly shell-shocked. Wild Tigress didn't seem to notice that the swan mew had spoken. She was too bust watching the Black Knight change clothes.

* * *

Kisshu held the parasite close to the only blood sample left in Ryou's lab that had not already been experimented upon. He released the predator on the red liquid and observed through the microscope. He would cure Ember. He would atone for his mistake.

* * *

The Mew team was back at their meeting quarters; the living room of Keiichiro, Ryou, Ember and Emma's residence. The girls had all returned to their normal forms.

"I believe that I have guessed the alien's strategy," began Grace, having become bolder by the melding of her mindsets and the absence of her best friend.

"You do?" Ryou sounded surprised. "Well, please continue."

"Most of the Chimeras we've been fighting lately have been those Jell-O blobs that seem to dissolve every attack thrown at them, and then somehow dissipate on their own," Grace explained, and the nekomimi nodded his head in understanding. "But today's Chimeras were different. One was unaffected by Bolt Noir's attacks and my energy ribbon. The other was immune to Diamondback's venom and melted Tigress' ice." Ryou's ears began to twitch nervously and his tail began to flick. He could tell where she was going with this. "I think," Grace finished, "that those slug Chimeras were collecting data on our attacks. And the Chimeras we encountered today must have been test runs. The aliens probably intend to make another monster that is undefeatable."

The other Mews all had worried looks on their faces, including Emma. Keiichiro's brow was furrowed and his eyes were filled with concern. Ryou looked dazed, the only signs of life being his breathing, and the occasional twitch of an animal appendage. Even Josué seemed disturbed, pressing his lips into and fine line.

He parted them when he spoke, awaking everyone from their shocked dazes. "So… what do we do?"

Grace looked at him and replied in a voice so serious that anyone would have sworn _she_ was the leader, "We have to find a way to fight them which they haven't been able to observe."

"So, a new way to fight?" he asked for clarification.

"Yes," she said simply.

He looked down and nodded, clearing his throat, and Grace wondered why he couldn't meet her eyes. The boy then looked at Ryou. "How's Ember doing?"

"Go up and see for yourself," Ryou sighed in angst.

Josué rose from the wingback chair and made his way to the stairs.

* * *

Kisshu held the parasite over Ember's body, the nucleus of this jellyfish flashing green rather than red or yellow like the others. But this parasite wasn't like the others. He took a deep breath.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Josué cried out. He had opened the door just in time to see the alien blob of goo slide into the chest of the auburn-haired girl. Kisshu looked at him with golden, slit-pupil eyes. Ryou should have known better than to let this Cyniclon stick around.

Josué dove for the alien with outstretched arms, narrowly missing Kisshu's head with his fist. Kisshu hovered backwards, out of range on the opposite side of the bed. "You freakin' little punk!" Josué shouted. "What the crap did you just do to her?"

The ruckus had been heard first by Ryou's sharp cat ears. He ran up the stairs with Grace and Keiichiro stomping on his tail, the other Mews also in pursuit. Ryou walked into the room to see the alien floating on one side of the room, and the pyromaniac brandishing clenched fists on the other, the bed that contained the sleeping girl being the only thing that separated them. "What the heck is going on in here?" asked the nekomimi in a voice that was surprisingly calm.

Josué's raged face turned on the cat-boy as he pointed at his elf-eared foe. "That masquerading charlatan just put a parasite inside of my girlfriend!"

"Ex-girlfriend," Kisshu and Grace corrected him at once.

"Wait, what!" Grace shrieked. She shifted into En Pointe so fast that Keiichiro got slapped in the face by one of her wings. Ryou was staring at the Cyniclon with contempt, claws out and on the verge of having a hissy fit. En Pointe held her ribbon at the ready. Aimee somehow managed to push through the crowd and assess the situation.

"Guys," she pointed out, "if she has a parasite in her, then why hasn't she become a Chimera Anima yet?"

En Pointe blushed at her own scientific error and demanifested.

Kisshu used his eyes to thank Aimee. Then he spoke. "Please, allow me to explain."


	20. Another Exile

**Author: Okay guys. I have a legit reason for updating late this time. My story, "Tokyo Mew Mew: 101 Things" was removed from the site because it was a list. And then I was prohibited from uploading for a while. But this chapter is extra-awesome just to make up for it!**

* * *

Ryou let forth an angry meowling sound as Josué screamed, "No way!" Aimee gave both of them looks that could freeze fire, causing the boys to step down and let Kisshu speak.

"The parasite isn't for attacking Ember. It's for helping her-" he began, but was cut off by Josué.

"How exactly?" sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"I was getting to that!" Kisshu snapped. Forcing himself to calm down, he said in a less aggressive voice, "This parasite is a secondary parasite. In other words, it will attack the _virus_, not Ember. And furthermore, it won't turn the virus into a Chimera. It will merely consume the virus and then die off when there is no more pathogen to consume."

Ryou looked a little relieved. But he was still somewhat stunned. "Why did you do this, Kisshu? Why did you try and make her better?"

"How many times do I have to tell you before you believe me?" Kisshu replied in a voice hard and pained from fear that his cure would fail. "I will always protect her. She is my lifemate."

The mouths of all the mews dropped at once. "Since when?" Josué demanded.

Kisshu glared at him with golden eyes as hard and pained as his voice. "Since the night you left her heart broken wide open, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." He then smirked, "I suppose I should actually thank you. If you hadn't done what you did, then neither would have she."

Josué felt like he had been slapped in the face by Lady Irony. It hit him so hard; he took a literal step back. He was about to cast a retort in response, when a low moan from the bed caught and held everyone's attention.

Ember opened her big brown eyes and stared around the room. "What's going on?" When she saw her ex-boyfriend standing over her in a protective manner, she grumbled, "Josué, what the heck are you doing in my _bedroom_?" She frowned at him and sat up slowly, groaning painfully. Of all the people in the room she could have asked, she turned to the one person whom no one else expected. "Kisshu, what happened to me?"

The gasp was audible, as it was the collective noise of the sudden intake of breath from everyone in the room. Everyone that is, except Ember and Kisshu. Kisshu looked at her with eyes that were formerly a hard metallic gold; now melted into something as sweet and sticky as honey. "I'll explain later, kawaii-chan. We're all just relieved that you are okay now." The others all nodded their agreement to his statement, except for Josué, who crossed his arms defiantly and refused to agree with an alien. Ember nodded her understanding as Kisshu sat down on the bed next to her.

Grace came forward and sat on the other edge of the bed, suddenly feeling quite protective of her best friend, regardless of what Kisshu had said. The other Mews assembled around Grace, standing near the footboard of the bed after picking up on the mood. Josué stared at the green-haired alien with cold, blue eyes; arms still crossed over his chest. Ember looked at her teammates, and then at her current romantic interest. She pursed her lips, feeling like a little girl caught painting the puppy pink.

Aimee read the girl's mind and gave Ryou a look that urged him to say something, passing to him Ember's thoughts through her telepathy. The scientist nodded and then looked at Ember. "Under normal circumstances I would scold you for such reckless behavior. But as Kisshu is the only reason you are currently conscious, it would be unfair of me to say anything about it. So… It's okay. But _only_ because he saved your life, do you understand?"

"Ryou…" Ember began tentatively, "why do you have cat ears?"

The blond scowled as if to convey, "_You've been asleep for two months and _that's_ what you have to say?_" Then he spoke. "I'll explain that later." He turned to the Mews all crowded at the end of her bed. "In any case, Ember, waking up to all of this tension must be overwhelming. Mews, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room for a while." The girls got up and left, thought they did so quite reluctantly. Raquel shot Kisshu a very effective hater-stare before exiting the room.

Josué still stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Ryou snapped, "That means you too, Black Knight." The teenage boy grumbled something that only the sharp ears of Ryou and Kisshu could hear, something along the lines of 'leaving Ember here to die'. Then the person giving the hater-stare was Kisshu, directing his gaze at Josué as the tech-head wandered out of the room. Ryou pretended not to hear.

Keiichiro smiled his typical, gentlemanly smile and said, "It's nice that you are awake again, Ember." He then left too.

Ryou told Ember, "Oh, and by the way. Summer vacation started two days ago, so you don't have to worry about homework now." Ember nodded her understanding while pressing her fingers to her temples in attempt to assuage a headache.

* * *

Aimee and Raquel went to Raquel's house to hang out. Josué had to go meet a client with a broken iPhone. Grace had told her parents that she would spending the night with Ember and Emma in a phone call she had made after Ember's recovery. As Emma lost herself in her Xbox, Grace decided to assist Keiichiro in the preparation of dinner.

* * *

Ryou was about to leave Ember's room, when suddenly someone materialized between the door to the bathroom and the foot of the bed. This someone had dark blue hair that came about three inches past his shoulders, light blue eyes with slit pupils, pale skin, and large pointy ears. Ryou did not know who this new alien was, and he decided that he wasn't leaving until he knew his name and intentions. This alien, however, had not even glanced in Ryou's direction. He stared at the only other member of his race in the room as he bent over the catch his breath.

"Kisshu, I need to talk to you," panted the new Cyniclon. Then straightening his back and seeming to notice Ember and Ryou, he added, "Alone."

Kisshu blinked owlishly, somewhat baffled by this person's presence. "Chaim," **[ Author: pronounced how it looks, rhyming with fame]** "- oh I mean your highness – what are you doing here?"

"I'll explain that once they leave," the Cyncloni prince replied, voice as hard and icy as his crystal blue eyes. The sound bordered on a growl.

Kisshu frowned in suspicion. "Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of Ember," was his equally stone-cold response. Then he glanced at Ryou. "Oi, nekomimi, beat it."

Ryou only hissed, "I'm not leaving until I know what's going on!"

The blue-haired alien, whom Kisshu had called Chaim, looked at Ryou and frowned. Suddenly, Ember's schoolbag, which had been lying on the floor unused for quite some time, flew across the room and narrowly missed Ryou's head.

The blond swore in Japanese, his cat ears trembling and his tail swishing nervously. Ember raised her eyebrows in a _"Dang!"_ expression. Kisshu merely looked at Chaim with a face that asked, _"Was that absolutely necessary?"_

The blue-eyed Cyniclon, though, wasn't looking at his cousin in this particular moment. He was staring down the strange male Earthling. "You would be wise to leave," he said sternly.

Ryou regained his composure. "Ember comes with me," he countered in a voice just as stern.

"The girl?" asked Chaim, raising his eyebrows. He glanced at the couple on the bed and his eyes met Kisshu's defiant scowl. Turning back to Ryou, the prince sighed. "Good luck with that. No one negotiates with him on such matters, not even me." With a smirk, Chaim turned and looked at his cousin.

Even though Chaim was a year younger than Kisshu and had a lot more reasons to act spoiled, it was always Kisshu who behaved more immaturely. Chaim lowered his eyes to the floor and shook his head amusedly, then looked back up and the cat-eared boy who refused to leave. "If you won't go, I can always see you out."

Kisshu, the only other one in the room who knew what this meant, snickered in spite of his efforts not to. Ember gave him a funny look, then glanced at Ryou and shrugged as if to say, _"Well, whatcha gonna do?"_

The blond stood his ground, bracing himself for the impact. He expected the Cyniclon to charge him or else blast him with some sort of alien energy. He was surprised when the door seemingly opened of its own accord, and he found himself being lifted off of the floor by an unseen force and zooming towards the exit. He was planted on his feet at the top of the staircase and the door to Ember's room shut behind him. He would have went to banging on the door and shouting had he not remembered that he had a very important phone call to make.

* * *

Chaim looked at Kisshu with his penetrating blue eyes. His blue hair hung freely around his face and seemed to cascade into waves starting at his jawline. He glanced at Ember, then scanned her up and down, taking her in. Then he returned his gaze to Kisshu. "So she's it, is she?" he sighed somewhat disappointedly. "She's the reason you're in exile?"

"Hai," Kisshu nodded.

Chaim raised his eyebrows. "I sincerely hope she was worth it." His tone was condescending and Kisshu didn't like it, but it wasn't his place to say anything when Chaim had such an attitude, which was rarely ever. Chaim continued, "At least I know the reason for _my_ banishment was something worth doing."

Kisshu's eyes went wide with shock. This was news to him. What could have possibly possessed the Cyncloni people to banish their own prince? Then another thought hit him. What if his goody-two-shoes cousin had actually done something _bad_? "What did you do?" he asked in wonder. "I mean, this is _you_ we are talking about. You can't have done anything _that_ bad."

Chaim nodded his head in agreement and leaned back into a reclining position, levitating in midair. "You're quite right, Kisshu. The only thing I did was discover the salvation of our people."

Kisshu's eyebrows knitted together, "I don't underst-"

"Please allow me to finish," Chaim said in a polite voice which was rather contrary to the rudeness of his interruption. He looked at his cousin and fellow exile. Placing his feet back on the floor, he continued his explanation. "Kisshu, did you know that we don't need to conquer Earth? There is another perfectly habitable planet out there with no pre-existing form of intelligent life and no pollution either." Chaim paused to watch Kisshu's reaction: the dropping of his jaw and the rapid blinking of his eyes. It did not disappoint.

"So… why are we here at all?" Kisshu frowned, going from amazed to angry in five seconds flat.

"I honestly have no idea," Chaim replied calmly. "Especially since deeper archaeological investigation has shown that _this_ planet, and not Earth, is the one of our origins. It quite baffles me. It seems our entire history has been a lie."

This time it was Ember who interrupted him. "Excuse me, but that's impossible. Ryou said that his father found remains of an ancient civilization and among it, the fossil of a Chimera Anima. And also, he somehow hacked your guys' database and found a historical record that had an image of a plant that used to grow on Earth a long time ago. The scientific evidence goes against your claims."

Kisshu stared at her with a mixture of awe and concern. Chaim gazed at her with his lips slightly parted, processing her audacity before going on. "That may be so, be doesn't Earth have many ancient civilizations? And the Earth Recovery Plan has been going on for eons. We've tried to conquer Earth more than once throughout history, even building a base on the planet's surface once, but always failed our every attempt."

Ember was thinking, _"And you still came back?"_ but she bit her tongue, keeping herself from saying it.

"There is no reason," Chaim continued, "why you wouldn't find such a fossil. And lastly there is the plant. Whatever formed the plants of Earth is the same thing which formed the plants of the entire universe, correct? I see no reason why they wouldn't be similar." Ember found it hard to argue his logic, so she simply nodded her agreement. Chaim was pleasantly surprised at her constraint, as Cynclonian women rarely knew when to shut up. "In any case, for reasons unbeknownst to me," he resumed, "when I presented my findings to my former mistress, Blood Red seemed angry with me. This morning I was notified of my exile, and so now here I am. I figured if I was going to be a social pariah, I might as well do it with family."

Kisshu momentarily envied the royal family's ability to teleport over vast distances. Although Kisshu himself was technically a member of the royal family, it was only the current king and his possible heirs that had this gift. On top of that, Chaim had a rare ability that came along only once every five generations. Much like Taruto could control plants, Chaim had telekinesis. Kisshu sighed somewhat longingly.

But then again, by their people's standards, Chaim wasn't considered at all good-looking. Kisshu, however, was thought to be extremely handsome. The green-haired Cyniclon knew that he wouldn't trade his looks for the power if given the choice.

Ember was soaking in everything the blue-haired alien had just said, struggling to come up with a theory. Failing, she finally asked him, "So if there is another planet out there that meets your expectations better than Earth, why is your kind fighting for Earth so hard? I mean, if it isn't good enough as is, and there is another place out there that is not only perfect but easy to obtain as well, then why bother with Earth at all?"

"That is exactly what I would like to know," Chaim replied pensively. Kisshu looked worried, and Ember was downright confused. Why fight over a clod of dirt if a lump of gold was free for the taking?

* * *

Emma was easily bored. After about five minutes on her Xbox, she decided to go outside. The weather was in agreement with her whims for once, so she decided to take advantage of it. Once outside, she needed something to do, and a quick sweep of her gaze across the front yard provided her with an answer that made her eyes sparkle. She walked noiselessly over to the big cherry blossom tree.

This type of tree normally grew a branch up from the bottom of its trunk at around its third year of life. If the small, twig-like limb was cut off at that time, the tree would have the beautifully flawless trunk drawn in most pictures. But the person who had tended this tree during that crucial stage had neglected to remove the branch, and now that the tree was much older, it became the perfect foothold for any climber.

After placing her foot on that low branch, she clung to the bough above her and swung herself up. Her tiger genes made the climb effortless and silent, so even someone with highly sensitive ears could not hear her approach.

As it turns out, such a someone was sitting in this particular tree, watching the verbal exchange between two exiles, hidden from sight and scent by the plentiful pink blossoms. Pai was startled enough to jump when a voice behind him said, "Hey, it's Peh!" This cheerful voice belonged to none other than Emma Leigh, the temporary leader of the Mews. Her reaction to his movement was to giggle and say, "Oh, I scared Peh!"

He frowned as he realized that the last syllable of that sentence was supposed to be his name. "My name is Pai," he corrected her.

Her reply came out almost too fast for him to register. "Yeah, I know. But that reminds of food, which makes me hungries, which makes me want to eat NYUMMIES! So, I'm just gonna call you Peh instead. Okay, Peh?"

He gave a single, slow nod, as well as a look which clearly conveyed his suspicions of her insanity. Half of the things she had said didn't even sound like real English words. She also seemed to be speaking to him without fear or hesitation. This piqued his scientific curiosity. _"Does she lack the standard human chemical known as 'adrenaline'? Or is this abnormal behavior the result of what humans call a 'sugar rush'? It could simply be a brain malady…" _

"So, what are doing here, Peh?" she bounced slightly on the tree branch.

"That is none of your concern," he replied coldly.

She took this as an invitation to find out for herself and scooted to the thicker branch, which he sat upon. She leaned her head in front of his, trying to see what he saw. There was a perfect view of Ember's window. She leaned back and put her mouth very close to his ear. "Are you spying on my sister, Peh?" Her breath on his ear freaked him out, but his training had taught him to never show fear. "Peh," she began, her voice slightly more serious, "why are you spying on Ember?"

He had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn't leave him alone until he answered her, so he did. "I'm gathering information." He kept his words vague.

"Oh?" she pulled away and he was instantly relieved. "Well…" she tapped her chin, "there's an easier way to do that." She smiled at him. "What kind of information exactly?"

He paused to glimpse at her. He couldn't believe his good fortune, because it sounded as if she intended to help him. "Any information." He stared at her blankly.

"Okay, so um… Do you maybe want to…" she laughed for some odd reason, "compare body chemistries?"

He blinked at her. He had expected her to be helpful, but did not expect a willing experiment. _"If I could get a DNA sample from every Mew, I could amplify the effects of the illness. Maybe it would be effective this time."_ "Alright," he answered her. "Where should we begin?" He didn't care if it was hair or skin cells or blood, as long as it was something.

"How about with our… saliva?"

That would do. There was something that her voice conveyed that he couldn't quite comprehend, but he dismissed it. Searching in his pocket for a test tube which she could use as a spittoon, he replied, "Excellent." His tone was instantly more casual as his mind raced excitedly with the scientific possibilities. Pulling the glass vial from his pocket, he was startled when her lips quite suddenly and randomly closed over his own.

He dropped the test tube, and it fell from the tree, shattering on a branch before meeting the ground. In this moment, Pai had three thoughts.

1. "Oh crap! The bond!"

2. "She's rather cute, all things considered. The energetic boldness is a strong point… Wait! What did I just think?"

3. "So that thing in her voice that I couldn't determine; is that what humans refer to as 'flirting'?"

When the kiss broke, his warrior training took over. He slapped her in the face and teleported to anywhere that was _away._

"_Phase one of my plan is finished,"_ Emma mused. _"If Ember could reduce the number of our foes and increase the number of our comrades with something like romance, I can do it too."_ Little did Emma know exactly how effective her plan would be.

* * *

Ryou was on the phone with someone to whom he hadn't spoken in a while. He was conversing in Japanese. "So you understand why we need you?"

"Hai," said the person on the end of the line.

"And will you call the other girls and alert them to the situation as well?"

"Hai, Shirogane-san," replied the girl again.

"And you have learned English over the past three years?" he asked her in English.

"Yes," her reply was in English as well.

"Yoshi. Arigato, Ichigo," (Good. Thanks, Ichigo.) he thanked her.

"Hai, hai," she responded before hanging up.


	21. Reinforcements

**Author: A little rearrangement in the chapters for anyone who has read the notebook version. This one cuts off sooner than the handwritten so that chapter twenty-two will be longer. **

**No worries, loyal online readers. This chapter still has over 3,000 words.**

* * *

As Ryou got off the phone, he noticed Grace ascending the stairs with a tray containing a few bowls of the stir fry that she and Keiichiro had made for dinner. "Hey, I wouldn't go up there right now if I were you," he warned her.

Grace pretended not to hear him. Over the past months of fighting without Ember there to make Ryou be reasonable, Grace had realized that he wasn't as nice as she had first presumed. The crush she had once had on him had died. Another reason for this may have been her natural aversion to confrontation. She had noticed Raquel drooling over Ryou every chance she got lately, and the swan mew wasn't going to get into it with her fox friend over him. Saving the world was something worth the fight. A boy, however, was not.

As she reached for the doorknob of Ember's door, she shifted the tray onto her hip with her free hand. Coming through the door, Ember's dresser blocked Grace's view of the bathroom entryway. As Grace sat the tray down on Ember's bedside table and asked her friend how she was feeling, a flash of blue from the direction of the bathroom caught her eye, and she turned around. There was an alien with blue eyes and blue hair leaning against the bathroom door, wearing a robe of blue silk.

"Um… Ember," Grace began tentatively. "Who is this?"

"This is… Chaim?" she looked at the blue-haired alien and asked for conformation. He nodded. "Yeah," Ember nodded too.

"He's my cousin," Kisshu supplied. "He's also the prince." When Kisshu called attention to his royal position, Chaim blushed a bit. "But anyway," Kisshu continued, "he's in exile right now - like me - because he thinks there is no reason that our kind should be fighting Earthlings."

"Oh, okay," Grace nodded.

Chaim turned to Kisshu and asked in Cyncloni so the girls couldn't understand, "Are all Earth girls as cute as this one?"

"Huh? I thought I was the only one with such exotic tastes. Maybe you're not such a goody-goody after all," Kisshu teased in the same tongue.

"Sh- Shut up!" Chaim snapped, blushing.

Kisshu gave a lopsided grin. Chaim was acting like his normal self again, apparently calmed down from his indignation. It may have been an oxymoron, a prince with insecurities about himself, but Kisshu just thought it was fun. Kisshu asked his cousin, still speaking in their native language, "Chaim, why are you really on Earth? You're an exile now, yes. But if you found the ideal planet, why venture to the substandard one?"

"I think you know why, Kisshu," Chaim stared at the ground.

Kisshu replied, "Yes, I do. They won't accept you there, so you figured you'd try someplace else, neh?"

"Y- Yes," the prince stuttered.

Kisshu nodded and then began to speak in English again. "I can help you if you want."

Chaim flipped the topic with the switch of language, "Well, I really do need a place to stay…"

Kisshu shook his head, amused at his cousin's attempt to switch topic. He wouldn't let him get away with it. "Just make an alternate dimension," Kisshu said nonchalantly.

Chaim gave him a look like aren't-you-forgetting-something? as he said, "That's a skill they only teach to warriors, remember. And as I am not a warrior…"

"Oh yeah," Kisshu said, somewhat annoyed at Chaim's ability to counter his counter. "I forgot about that…" he trailed off, noticing the smell of the food that Grace had brought in. He stared at the bowls of rice and vegetables. "I haven't eaten since Ember went unconscious," he remembered aloud.

Ember's eyes went wide. "But wasn't that two months ago?"

"Hai…" Kisshu's stomach growled a bit, and he grinned embarrassedly.

"You never have had a substantial appetite," Chaim recalled, as if this were normal for Kisshu.

"It does smell really good, Grace. Did you help Akasaka out?" Ember complimented.

The redhead smiled a bit and her legs assumed second position. "Yes, I did," she answered shyly. She handed two of the three bowls and forks to Kisshu and Ember. One more sat on the tray, and Grace had intended it for herself. She had planned to stay up here for dinner and catch up with her now finally awake bestie.

Chaim's stomach also growled a bit. Kisshu looked up from the bowl of food that he was practically inhaling. "Teleporting that far takes a lot of energy doesn't it, Chaim?"

"It's alright," Chaim forced a smile and crossed his arms over his stomach, trying to compel the noise to stop.

Although Grace had become slightly bolder over the past months, she had not lost any of her compassion. Lifting the bowl from the tray, she put the fork in it and walked over to where Chaim stood. She held it out to him. His icy blue eyes melted for about a nanosecond. He hadn't expected this kindness from humans. Accepting the bowl, he told her, "Thanks."

She shrugged. "It's no big deal. There's more downstairs. That is, if Ryou and Emma haven't eaten it all," she grinned as she walked toward the exit. "I'm starting to think they're infused with pigs rather than felines," she joked, leaving. She stuck her head back through the door for a moment, saying, "When you're finished, you can put the dishes on the tray and set it outside the door." Then she closed the door again and descended the stairs.

"Was he still up there?" Ryou asked as she passed through the dining room.

"Yes," she replied. "And he apparently needs a place to stay."

Ryou banged the table. "No, that is not acceptable!"

Emma chuckled and murmured, "He's having a hissy fit, mreow!"

Grace just sighed as she filled a bowl with stir fry in the kitchen. She returned to the dining room to eat it.

* * *

Ryou had called in the Tokyo Mew Mews for reinforcement against the aliens' newest plan (or at least Grace's assumption of it). Because she was already in America for a photo shoot, Zakuro Fujiwara arrived the next morning. When Keiichiro opened the door, Zakuro was surprised to look past him and see a blue-haired alien sleeping on the couch. She raised a slender eyebrow. "Akasaka-san," she asked in Japanese, "who is that?"

Chaim's sensitive ears awoke him with the sound of a strange voice. He sat up stretching and yawned. "Where am I?" he asked himself in Cyncloni. Upon remembering, he exclaimed to himself in English, "Oh yeah." He noticed the girl with the grey eyes and purple hair standing in the doorway. She was staring at him as if he were some form of biological waste.

It was at this moment that Ryou entered the room, and the girl's jaw dropped. "Shirogane-san, what happened to you?" she asked in Japanese.

"I'll explain that when the others arrive," he supplied in the same tongue, scratching one of his cat ears. "I don't want to have to go over it more than once."

Zakuro then asked in English while pointing to Chaim, "Who is that and what is it doing here?"

"I'm… not exactly sure," Ryou responded honestly. The grey wolf mew frowned in dissatisfaction, but crossed the threshold anyways.

* * *

Grace woke up in a room with neon green walls, finding herself zipped inside a sleeping bag of the same color. She had slept on the floor of Emma's bedroom, the tigress mew still snoring in her bed under a bright yellow comforter. The redheaded ballerina pulled herself from her cloth envelope and stretched her legs out in front of her. Feeling tense, she leaned forward, gracefully folding her upper body over her lower body in a toe-touch.

There was a warbler perched on the windowsill outside which Grace noticed as she stood up. The bird chirped and wheeted before letting out the gargling warble for which it was named.

Emma punched her pillow and mumbled, "Stupid bird," under her breath. "Go back to sleep."

"Good morning, Emma," Grace breathed, managing to hide her amusement under a mask of politeness.

Emma moaned, raising her head to look at Grace from under the mess of brown bangs that had been mussed by the night's fitful sleep. The brunette had felt like she was being watched, and the eerie sensation had driven away the Sand Man. She now plopped her face back into her pillow, refusing to get out of bed unless it was absolutely necessary. The warbler on the sill continued its auditory assault of happy chirrups. As the foot of her bed was near the window, she kicked the glass pane just hard enough to frighten the annoying ball of feathers to a distance at which it would at least be slightly less loud.

Grace chuckled to herself as she left Emma to her doomed-to-fail attempt at catching a few more Z's. The trumpeter swan opened the door to Ember's bedroom and peered in, wondering if her best friend was awake yet. She was greeted by golden eyes and a fanged smile. "Kisshu, didn't you sleep?" asked the baffled girl.

"No."

"Won't you be tired the rest of the day?" she inquired again.

"No."

Grace raised an eyebrow, but closed the door behind her as she left, shaking her head in confusion. She descended the stairs to find a girl with long, purple hair glaring at the Cynclonian prince. "Did I miss something?" Grace asked sweetly, managing to pull off some of En Pointe's sarcasm.

Ryou inclined his head to the purple girl in introduction. "Grace Swann, this is Zakuro Fujiwara. She is one of the Tokyo Mew Mews that participated in the fighting of the first invasion." He then nodded in the other direction. "Zakuro, this is Grace Swann, Wild Mew number two. The two of you actually have a similar weapon."

"I am pleased to meet you," said Zakuro in a cold manner that unintentionally implied the opposite. She extended her hand.

"Um… hi," Grace replied shyly, accepting Zakuro's hand. The wolf mew moved their joined hands up and down rather stiffly.

When the awkward handshake was over, Chaim (who had watched) decided to try enacting some Earth manners. "Hello, Ms. Fujiwara. I am Chaim Ikisatashi," he stretched forth his hand.

"I don't care," Zakuro glared at him coldly. Chaim looked slightly taken aback.

"That's a little harsh for someone who is on our side," Grace commented, brow furrowing in sympathy.

Zakuro took in Grace's words, and then turned to Ryou. "Ichigo told me the threat this time was aliens. Was she misinformed?"

Ryou shook his head. "No, she wasn't. But it seems they're splitting into two different factions. Am I right?" He asked Grace. The girl merely shrugged.

"It's correct," Chaim answered. "Or it would have been, had I not been banished before releasing my information," he spat. He gave the nekomimi a sideways glance. "In this case, I'm not for my people trying to conquer Earth."

Zakuro raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "And why not?" she managed to make her tone sound curious rather than accusatory.

Chaim met her eyes. "Because we don't need it."

Being as it was the first time Ryou and Grace had heard this information as well, all three DNA spliced persons shouted, "What?" Keiichiro's face assumed a shocked expression.

"We don't need it," Chaim repeated. "There is another perfectly viable planet out there on which the only pre-existing life is plants. There wouldn't even be a war over it. It would merely be a changing of residences. And the planet isn't even polluted! There would no violence and the planet gained wouldn't be substandard.

"So as far as the Earth Recovery Plan goes, I'm against it. And if the rest of my people knew what I know, I'm sure they'd agree."

Grace nodded resolutely. "Good for you! Now, who wants breakfast?" Ryou and Zakuro stared at Chaim like he was… well, from outer space. Grace walked into the kitchen to get started on breakfast omelets, and Keiichiro followed her, both of the confrontation-haters eager to escape the thick atmosphere.

Zakuro then spoke to Chaim in a voice that seemed to resonate off the walls because of the silence. "So does this mean you will help us stand against them?" Ryou looked at the Cyniclon with this same question in his eyes, though he said nothing.

Chaim's visage became pensive. _"Is it possible to stand against Blood Red? But, then again if anyone could, wouldn't it be me? My gift of telekinesis would surely make me a strong foe, would it not?" _He pictured the looks on their faces and smiled. _"It would be interesting, certainly. Pai has publicly snubbed me more than once, regardless of the custom to respect the monarchy. It might be fun to see fear on his face if it were inflicted by me." _ Still grinning at this idea, he looked back up at Zakuro. "Alright. Yes, I will."

* * *

Aimee and Raquel came over later to check on Ember's condition. As they knocked on the front door, Josué pulled his Ford Mustang into the driveway. By the time Grace opened the door, the blue-eyed-blond was standing behind the two girls.

"You guys missed a lot a very important stuff…" Grace blinked at them owlishly.

When the three walked through the door, they were filled in on the specifics by; a scientist, a Wild Mew, and Tokyo Mew, and an alien whom they had never before seen. The details had just been cleared up when Kisshu and Ember walked down the stairs, the latter leaning sleepily on the arm of the former, who was wide awake despite having not slept.

Everyone stared at the couple with mixed reactions. Grace was confident that Ember could handle herself. Chaim was happy that his cousin was happy. Ryou was still suspicious of Kisshu's motives, but couldn't deny that he had saved Ember's life. Raquel thought that Ryou was right, no matter what the nekomimi believed, and resigned herself to suspicion as well. Aimee frowned, knowing that if he tried anything, she could always bite him. Josué hated Kisshu's guts, assuming the alien was the only reason that Ember didn't want to get back together with him. Zakuro balked at the trust this Wild Mew displayed toward the pervert that had stolen Ichigo's first kiss.

"Ohaiyo, minah!" (Good morning, everyone!) Kisshu grinned.

Ember looked up at him drowsily. "Ohio? No, Kish, we're in Kentucky."

"Huh?" Kisshu didn't understand. Ryou tried to stifle his laughter. "What's funny?" Kisshu asked him.

"Well, first off, Ember; 'Ohaiyo' is Japanese for 'Good morning'. Kisshu, there is a state called Ohio quite a few miles northeast of here. And the third thing…" the blond paused as he realized that the time the two of them had spent in bed together wasn't really funny at all. "It's afternoon."

"Honto ni?" (Really?) Kisshu scratched the back of his head somewhat nervously.

Grace shook her head in amusement and walked to the bathroom. Raquel laughed now, understanding why Ryou had been laughing and merely trying to adjust to his humor. Aimee muttered under her breath, "Scapegrace." Ember caught this and glared at her as the couple dismounted the final stair.

Ryou seemed to notice the absence of one particular mew. "Where is Emma?"

* * *

Emma Leigh had just fallen back asleep. He sighed in relief. He worried that his hiding place in the oak tree opposite of her window may have been discovered.

Their plan to kill off Ember had somehow failed, and Pai blamed himself for the recovery of the Mew leader. But they had gathered plenty of data in the meantime; enough to destroy the mews once and for all. It would be easy enough to coat the Chimera in a fireproof liquid before the battle. The sudden health of the pyrokenetic would not affect their victory.

Gestation of the Ultimate Anima would be finished within three days, and once the battle was won, they would not kill the mews. Oh no, they would not kill them. The powers of the Mews would be studied and manipulated as a means by which to finish conquering the Earth. He wasn't sure of the methods for this, but he was aware that Gentiel was working on it. The outcome of this battle would be the outcome of the war. Focus was more important now than ever. Determination was key. _"So, why can't I focus? Why does my motivation seem to have evaporated into thin air?"_

Pai reached a trembling hand up to his lips, and he knew why. "Blasted bond," he muttered under his breath as he stared through her window. His mind and his biology were in conflict for the first time in his life, and he didn't know how to deal with it. At that moment, he chose the route of his circumstantial predecessor. He would pretend this didn't happen. Distancing himself from the complicated reality, he would force his body to comply with his mind. It had done so for all of his life, so it shouldn't be that difficult, or so was his hypothesis. Never would a scientific estimate be more wrong.

* * *

Ryou tore off the yellow comforter, then grabbed the pillow from under her head and tossed it on the floor. Emma let out a meowl of protest. "Get up!" Ryou hissed, his tail standing straight up in annoyance.

"I'm part cat," she mumbled. "I get to sleep during the day."

"You DNA is no excuse. I have cat genes myself and have been awake for three and a half hours," he spat back. "Now get off the bed or the next thing I remove is the mattress!"

"Ungh," she moaned, but obliged. She stood up and bent to pick the pillow up off of the floor. As Ryou made his way toward the exit, the fluffy object collided with the back of his head as Emma murmured, "Meanie."

When the tigress mew had changed out of her pajamas and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, she bounded down the stairs in blue jean shorts and a lime green tank top. Her first stop was the refrigerator, out of which she grabbed an energy drink. Then she returned to the living room and sat on the couch with Ember and Kisshu.

"Lord help us," Ember mumbled. "Emma has caffeine." The tiger mew just chuckled, taking sips from the can.


	22. Confessions

**Author: First of all, allow me to apologize for my latest update ever. But to be fair, I did warn you guys ahead of time that I had camp. Yes, I was gone to a place computers are banned and evil boys come and smash raw eggs on your head. T_T My fellow otakus, you can rest assured that I was thinking of you. (Be on the lookout for a oneshot that I wrote as appeasement.) So, here's the next chapter minah! It has almost 5,000 words. My personal best so far…**

* * *

That night it was decided that Chaim would stay with Grace. Ryou would not allow two Cyniclons to stay in his house. It was Ember who remembered, "Hey Grace, doesn't your house have a spare room?"

Chaim gave Grace a sideways glance, something along the lines of hope in his gentle eyes. Grace had been staring at the Prince of Cyniclons for a while, but now abruptly looked away. Gaping at Ember she blurted, "No! I- I mean yes, we do, but… I don't think my parents would approve of me having an alien in the house, especially not a male one!"

Chaim looked a little sorrowful until Kisshu replied, "They don't have to know," in that cool, smirking tone that always meant he was forming a plan. "Chaim can just use an invisibility shield. They'll never even know he's there. Right, cousin?" Kisshu smiled broadly as if the problem had just been solved.

"I suppose I could," Chaim muttered, "But-"

"Alright then!" Kisshu exclaimed happily, clapping Chaim on the shoulder.

"But I really don't want to trouble Miss Grace…" Chaim finished. The two aliens then commenced to argue in Cyncloni.

Kisshu: "This is your chance, Chaim. You came here to get a lifemate, didn't you? If you have no confidence in yourself, Earth social customs show that the girl always falls for the guy if they are living together."

Chaim: "Then shouldn't you be worried about that cat-eared boy?"

Kisshu: "Why else do you think I moved in here? Of course I'm worried about him. _You_ should be worried about _her._ You already voiced your attraction to her, did you not? Living with her would get her to like you in no time at all."

Chaim: "I don't want to win a girl by trickery, Kisshu. I long for someone who can really love me."

Kisshu: "She can't love you if you don't give her a chance. Here is a chance!"

Chaim: "Alright, alright! I'm sick and tired of arguing with you. You're too stubborn."

Then Kisshu resumed speaking English. "Good, it's all settled. Chaim will stay with Grace."

"But- but!" Grace sputtered.

"Huh?" Kisshu looked at her. "Do you want him to have to sleep on the street and be discovered by someone and then be poked and prodded by your scientists until they cut open his head and dissect his brain?" Chaim stared at Kisshu wide-eyed and shuddered slightly.

"N- no, but…" Grace attempted.

"Okay then, what's the problem?" Kisshu asked, aware that she was close to caving.

"U- umm…" Grace was _not_ going to say what the problem was.

Ember seemed to catch on. "Grace, you were so outspoken yesterday. What happened?"

The redhead grasped at straws. "Well, you woke up. And you were okay, and it seems that you are able to defend yourself again, so I don't have to anymore."

Ember winked a brown eye at her best friend and teased, "Okay. If you're sure that's the _only_ reason." Grace blushed.

* * *

The next day marked the arrival of Minto Aizawa and Retasu Midorikawa. Ms. Aizawa had borrowed her family's private jet for this journey and brought Retasu along because she knew that the others would be coming to America anyways. (She left Ichigo and Bu-Ling behind because they were too annoying.) She would have brought along Berri Shirayuki had the dual-DNA mew not insisted on taking Tasuku Meguro, the obsessive hugger.

You see, in the years since Ryou's departure to America, the Tokyo Mews had undergone all the hardships of typical adolescence. While at first Tasuku had saved his hugs for only Berri, he soon realized that the other mews needed to be cheered up at times as well. Therefore, even though Berri had his heart, Tasuku had decided to cheer up the other girls with some of his special medicine. So whenever one of Bu-Ling's siblings got sick, or Ichigo and Aoyama were having relationship difficulties, or Retasu was bearing the burn of her classmates' tough words, Tasuku would leap in with open arms.

The boy was so enthusiastic with his touchy-feely version of friendship, and the last thing Minto had wanted was to be stuck with him for more than twelve hours, soaring a mile above the ocean. The situation would have likely resulted in her first adventure in skydiving.

When Minto and Retasu walked through the door to Ryou's abode, they were surprised to find their former enemy lip-locked with some girl on the loveseat. Minto gasped at what she was sure was a blatant, perverted crime occurring in front of her. With a shout of, "Mew Mew Mint, metamorphosis!" she had changed into the blue lorikeet mew that she was. "Kisshu, what do you think you are doing to that poor girl? For this, I will make you pay!" Her English was better than one would expect, probably the result of private tutors. "Mint Arrow!"

"Huh? Nani?" Kisshu's lips, temporarily detached from Ember's, asked annoyedly.

Ember, who had realized the peril of the situation, leapt up from his lap and took a protective stance in front of him. Though it was unnecessary, she wanted Mew Mint to recognize her position, so she shouted, "Wild Mew Lone Wolf, metamorphosis!"

"Minto!" Retasu exclaimed as she recognized what was happening, "Stop!"

"Why?" Mint shot back.

Lone Wolf, fully transformed, stared down Mew Mint with unnerving yellow eyes. A voice broke the tension.

"Do not jump to conclusions unless you want to fall to the ground. Listen to the story before deciding its end," the Japanese words rolled from a feminine tongue, and in all of the excitement Minto had failed to notice the person who had opened the door. The bird mew whirled around to the voice that had spoken.

"Onee-sama!" she exclaimed in joy with a pinch of bewilderment.

"Kisshu has agreed to help us," Zakuro explained in the same cool voice. "You would not dare grudge his… kindness." The purple mew was herself still suspicious of him, and she nearly choked on the last word.

"H- Honto ni?" (R- Really?) Mint asked as she demanifested into Minto.

"Hai," Zakuro answered. "We have two aliens that want to aid our fight."

"Two aliens?" Retasu's voice quavered and she surprised herself when a small corner of her mind hoped the other was Pai.

"Yes," Zakuro continued. "Kisshu and his cousin, Chaim, have decided to lend us their assistance."

"Oh," Retasu's voice betrayed the drop of defeat along with a wave of relief.

"Perhaps they are just here to spy on us," Minto glared at the green-haired Cyniclon who still sat idly on the loveseat, watching the verbal exchange. His golden eyes widened at her accusation before narrowing in a mix of annoyance and defensive anger.

Kisshu didn't have to say a word to defend himself however, because Lone Wolf had already jumped on it. "If Kisshu was here as a spy, why would he have saved my life?"

Minto was stunned silent for a moment. Then she recovered, "Perhaps the other-"

"Who arrived after the threat for which we called you was revealed? Yes, very likely," the white wolf mew said snidely. "Chaim did not get here until the enemy had formed its plan. For what purpose would a spy arrive after the gathering of enough information? Ludacris."

Minto huffed and folded her arms over her chest.

"Okaminomimi-chan," Kisshu began, "your outfit seems… different."

She looked down and saw the sparkly white material that made up her dress. "Oh yes," Wolf replied. "That came with the pyrogenesis. I assume Emma or Ryou told everyone?"

"Yes, I told the others," Ryou said sullenly as he came down the hall. "Oh, Minto. Retasu. You're both here. Good."

"Holy crap," Minto blurted.

"Shirogane-san! What happened? Dai jouve desu ka?" (Are you okay?) asked Retasu with worried eyes.

"Huh? Oh, the nekomimi," Ryou remembered. "I'll explain later."

Retasu was unsatisfied, but left it alone. Minto still stared.

"The one who has some explaining to do now is Ember," Ryou continued. "Why do you insist that we help _them_?" His scornful glance at Kisshu relayed the full meaning of his question.

"They are only here to help their people," Lone Wolf spoke calmly and clearly as she turned to the blond nineteen- year- old. "Why should we keep them from doing that?"

"Why? Because they insist on causing human casualties – even the extinction of our very species – in order to accomplish that goal, that's why," Ryou's eyebrows and tail were raised. His tone was strong and reprimanding.

Lone was about to make a retort about his lack of diplomatic communications, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Zakuro again answered it, and this time it was Raquel, Aimee, and Josué that stood on the doorstep. As the trio stepped through the doorframe, Josué took this opportunity to give Ember a full-body scan in her new clothes.

* * *

Here was Chaim, brushing his teeth at the vanity area that connected their two bedrooms. Grace couldn't believe it. She had an alien living under her roof, and the only thing that separated his room from hers was a small room that contained a large counter with a built-in sink. A mirror stretched the length of the wall to which the counter was attached. From this area there were three doors; one on the end which led to her bedroom, the other on the end which led to the blue-themed guest bedroom (in which Chaim was staying), and another in the middle that led to the toilet, shower, and another sink.

Grace watched him brush his teeth. It was a somewhat awkward sight, an alien brushing their teeth, Grace surmised. It was especially awkward when he brushed his fangs more intensely. She didn't realize that she was staring; nor did she realize that her gaze had been slowly working its way down, taking in the figure before her.

His eyes were a blue slightly lighter than a daytime summer sky. His hair was the color of that same sky at night. He had a jawline that was firm in the front, but softer on the sides, somehow reminding Grace of a teacup. And though his dark blue robe fit him rather loosely and left nothing exposed compared to the clothing of Kisshu, she could guess from the way that it sat that it hid a rather well-developed pair of biceps. She noticed a pause in the sound of the toothbrush, and she looked back up at his face.

He had noticed her intense gaze. He spat out the toothpaste and rinsed the brush, giving her a funny glance. When he had finished, he pinned her with cat-like pupils and asked, "At what were you staring?"

Grace, blushing, dropped her gaze quickly to the floor. "Nothing," she murmured before turning back into her bedroom and shutting the door to the adjoining area behind her.

Chaim sighed to himself and let his mind wander. _"She was probably noting to herself how ugly I am. Females prefer hidden strength and that which I have shows through."_ He walked back to his room, putting up his invisibility shield and using his telekinesis to close the door. _"I have the most undesired build that exists among our kind. On top of that, it causes me to metabolize faster, requiring more energy than most. Even my long-range teleportation will be lost when my older brother is crowned king. Besides my telekinesis, my genes are terribly weak. I don't know why I even bother." _He sighed again, lying down on the bed. Then he heard a quiet knock on the bathroom door.

"Chaim?" a timid voice echoed in the silence. "Ember just texted me that she needs our help with something. We need to go over there and-"

Without hesitation, he dropped his invisibility barrier and teleported right behind her. Wrapping his strong arms around her waist (which, unbeknownst to him, caused her to blush) he teleported again, and suddenly Chaim and Grace were standing in Ryou's living room.

The jaws of everyone else in the room dropped at the pair's sudden appearance, but more so because of the physical contact. Grace gently brushed off Chaim's arms and smiled at Ember. Kisshu muttered in Cyncloni, "I told you so. Living together works magic."

"Baka anata," (You fool) Chaim glared at his cousin as he insulted him in Japanese. Switching to Cyncloni, he responded, "It isn't like that." The prince glanced around the room, doing a quick head count. When he spoke again, it was in English, with another scowl directed at Kisshu, who still sat on the loveseat. "Now stand up. Or do you intend to keep one of these ladies from taking a seat?"

"You and your chivalry," Kisshu mumbled. "I don't need to stand up."

"Then levitate," Chaim countered. Half of the people in the room were openly watching the two aliens argue. The other half pretended not to be paying attention, but they were.

"No, I don't want to," Kisshu moaned lazily, stretching his arms above his head, covertly reminding Chaim of his strength if his cousin wanted to make a brawl out of it.

"Then allow me to do it for you," Chaim's voice was polite and formal, but a small smirk danced on his lips. Quite suddenly, Kisshu was in the air, bobbing up and down.

"Ah! Chaim, put me down!" he hollered, clenching his fists.

"No, I don't want to," the prince replied by throwing Kisshu's own words into his face while Kisshu growled through clenched teeth.

Zakuro chuckled a bit at the scene, and Minto laughed as well, in imitation of her onee-sama. "The blue one is nice enough," she said as she took a seat on the couch with Retasu. Raquel went and seated herself next to Retasu, filling the last cushion on that piece of furniture. Zakuro sat on the loveseat, and Aimee walked over and sat beside her. The only seat open was the wingback chair, in which Josué normally sat on his weird little visits.

Currently, the technology prodigy leaned against the wall. "Josué," Grace asked, "aren't you going to sit down?"

"Uh-uh," Josué answered the negative rather quickly as he stared cautiously at Chaim.

Grace grinned and took the spot in the chair. Chaim then released Kisshu from his telekinetic hold, and the green-haired Cyniclon caught himself in mid-air, levitating.

"Now that that's over," Ember resumed, "back to our discussion." She turned to Ryou again and began. "We seem to be losing our focus here. We need to protect the Earth and everything that lives on it, yes. But that does not mean we should annihilate the Cyniclons in the process. We need to remember our true purpose." Kisshu looked at her lovingly from his spot near the ceiling, and Chaim glanced upward at him, interested in his cousin's response.

"What do you mean, Ember?" Ryou asked. Zakuro frowned and Minto looked confused.

"I'm not exactly sure how to explain it… but you've told me you've never even tried peace talks," she tried to explain. Every human in the room let out an audible gasp, excepting Grace and Ember.

"Peace talks?" Ryou burst. "If they could be reasoned with, I would have done it a long time ago! What are you-" He was interrupted by the clearing of Chaim's throat.

"Excuse me, but you seem to be implying that my kind is unreasonable." The Cyniclon narrowed his blue eyes, his slit pupils growing thinner. "I assure you, I have never shown you unreasonable. Though I also assure you, I am fully capable of doing so if you insist on it." A tense aura of fear settled on the room.

"That won't be necessary, Chaim," Lone Wolf's amber eyes met his icy ones in a calming manner. The she looked back to Ryou. "As you told me, you've never talked to them." She then decided to hit with a low, logical blow. "It's very unscientific of you to treat your hypothesis like a law without any means of gathering data. Aren't you supposed to be a scientist?"

Ryou felt the brunt of her words, but repeated his mantra of defense one more time, "They attacked us first."

"Because the planet on which they live is about to die," Ember finished, "and as things are, no one but Chaim knows of an alternative. If you were in such a position, you cannot tell me with all honesty that you would not have done the same thing."

"This is not about their planet or their people! It is about us!" Ryou hissed. The small tingles at his fingertips warned him of the protraction of his claws. He was sick and tired of her arguments, and the rapid spread of the cat DNA made it difficult to hide his frustrations.

"This is everything about their people!" Lone Wolf countered. "Wars start for a reason. In this case, the reason was need. End the reason, end the war. – It's basic pathology. A geneticist should know this. – If we want to end this war, we must end the need. And there is only one way to do that."

White eyebrows furrowed over yellow eyes in great resolve. Green eyebrows raised in moved surprise over dark amber irises. Dark blue eyebrows knitted upward over light blue corneas with slit pupils which were filled with admiration of courage. Light purple brows bent downward over a pair of blue irises, and black eyebrows over brown eyes did the same, following her onee-sama. But the surprise came from the mouth of the girl whose green eyebrows rested peacefully over a pair of eyes that was momentarily closed. When the curtains of her eyelids drew upward to reveal two sparkling, grey orbs behind two circles of glass, Retasu said, "She's right."

Everyone looked at her as she stood and repeated, "She's right. She's right. This is what I've felt too, the entire time!" Tears formed behind the lenses of her spectacles, and the mew whose element was water could not stop it from spilling down her cheeks. "A war that begins from such desperation cannot be _ended_ by force, but merely delayed. This has to stop. Fighting gets us nowhere. If we claim to be intelligent creatures, then let us settle our differences as such."

"Retasu…" Minto's voice held an unusual awe at the shy girl's forwardness. As if noticing all eyes were on her for the first time, the girl with the glasses blushed and retook her seat.

"Well put, Retasu," Lone Wolf nodded at her. Turning to Chaim because of his former political standing among the Cyniclons, she asked, "Is it possible?"

Chaim pondered for a moment, and then nodded. "I do believe the people would have few enough objections to it, although that is not the case with Blood Red. She would never agree to such a solution. If she would have," Chaim shrugged, "then I would not be here."

"Blood Red?" Wolf questioned. She had heard the name before, but the being behind it was something still unfamiliar.

"Like Deep Blue, only female," Kisshu grumbled, landing on the carpet next to Chaim, "she is the goddess of the Ardenite clan. She's supposed to be invincible, but then again, so was Deep Blue." Chaim nodded slowly, in agreement with Kisshu's words.

"So then, our only real enemy is one person?" Lone Wolf inquired. The two aliens nodded reluctantly, not wanting to explain that Blood Red was more than a person. "Then this is possible?" They nodded again. "Okay then." She turned around and looked at everyone else. "All those in favor of fighting the one true enemy, raise your hands."

Grace raised her hand, Raquel did likewise, and Kisshu and Chaim also put their hands up. Aimee propped her arm on the armrest of the loveseat, her palm facing outward. Retasu raised a trembling hand, and even Zakuro eventually put her hand up.

"Onee-sama!" Minto blurted with a start.

Zakuro looked at the girl, wisdom bearing forth from her eyes. "Wars of prejudice never end," said the violet mew. Out of loyalty to Zakuro, Minto awkwardly raised her hand. Keiichiro's palm even faced the group of persons, thought his arms were still crossed over his chest. The only people whose hands remained lowered were Ryou, Emma, and Josué.

Aimee switched the subject to something slightly less tense. "I suppose now that Lone Wolf is back with twice the power, we don't really need the Black Knight anymore. And it's not as if he could go to the press with the story, being as now he could not reveal our identities without being pressured to reveal his own." The snake mew grinned fiendishly.

"Quite so," Ember smirked.

Josué wasn't ready to give up so easily. "Hey," he defended, "I can still be useful."

"Prove it," Raquel snarked.

Everyone wait for his reply. "Challenge accepted," he grinned arrogantly. He turned to stare at the television, and it suddenly turned itself on.

Everyone in the room looked confused, so he tried again. Now the lights were flickering on and off, the ceiling fan began to whirl, and a noise caused Keiichiro Akasaka to run into the kitchen and shout, "Who turned on the blender?" Ember stared at her ex-boyfriend, not wanting to believe it.

For good measure, Josué walked over to the loveseat and asked, "Ms. Fujiwara, may I borrow you cell phone?"

"Why?" Zakuro asked suspiciously.

"Not to worry. I'll give it right back," he promised. The supermodel fished into her pocket and pulled out a purple flip-phone, handing it to him. "Thank you."

Josué held the device flat on the palm of his hand. He stared at it intently. Separating into various parts which scattered all across the room, the cell phone ceased to exist. The boy closed his eyes, and one by one each piece of electronic gadget returned to its proper place, the mobile communication device reforming in his hand. He returned it to Zakuro. "The ringtone should sound less tinny now," he added as he returned to lean against the wall.

No one in the room said a thing. They were all giving him various stares, glares and funny looks. "What?" he grinned, bemused, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do you think I became a successful electronics repairman and computer programmer by studying the internal working of technological devices? T'heck no! I've known I could do this since I was ten years old. The ability is called technopathy, I believe."

Ember was the first to speak, "And you didn't tell us about this because…"

"Because it wasn't necessary for you to know at the time," Josué answered matter-of-factly.

"As long as we're getting things off of our chests," Emma stepped forward, "I have a confession of my own." The other American Mews looked at her rather unexpectantly. They assumed that Emma was about to have another airhead moment, but the tigress mew surprised them. "I'm not the dunce everyone considers me to be. In all honesty, that's kind of just an act to fool people into underestimating me." Aimee blinked, disbelieving. "Anyway," Emma continued, "I thought it would be good to have another of the aliens on our side, you know? Like, if we could get another one to stop fighting us, that's one less enemy, right? And at the same time, it's another ally. So then we'd outnumber them by even more and be able to win, you see?"

"Emma, where are you going with this?" No one could remember who had asked this question aloud because it was the one they had all been thinking.

"Well, how did Ember get Kisshu to switch sides? She got romantically involved with him, right?"

"That wasn't my original intention or anything," Lone's face flushed a bit, "but I suppose."

"Right," Emma nodded. "So I decided to do the same thing."

"Emma, what did you do?" Ryou sounded more like he was chiding her than asking a question.

"I kissed Pai," she stated triumphantly.

Lone Wolf went pale and demanifested into Ember. Aimee looked positively horrified. Raquel asked, "Isn't that the purple one?" Ryou looked queasy. Josué let out a long, low whistle. Grace squeaked like a startled swan. Chaim's jaw dropped; then he raised his hand to his mouth and blushed. Kisshu stared at the tiger mew, and then burst out laughing.

"Kisshu," murmured Chaim, "you know what this means. You shouldn't be laughing."

"Gomen nasai," (I'm sorry) Kisshu shook, laughing so hard now that it was silent. "But I just tried to picture it, and…" An audible laugh finally sputtered from his lips again. "Pai… with _her_? It's just so, so… Eh?"

"Oxymoronic?" Chaim supplied.

"Hai," Kisshu nodded.

"And do you think that's good news for either one of them?" the prince countered.

"Iie," (No) Kisshu responded, hanging his head.

"What do you mean?" Minto asked, perceiving some sort of code-talk.

"Well," Kisshu scratched the back of his head. "Our species is different from yours… Some things can't be done lightly." Retasu shivered a little as she grasped at his implication. The cloudy look on Minto's face told of the need for better explanation.

This explanation was provided by Chaim. "Whenever one of our kind kisses or is kissed by someone, a deep emotional bond is formed. There is normally nothing wrong with that. But in certain circumstances, such as this one, it can cause the head and the heart to be in conflict with one another. Sometimes the body will act on its own accord, doing things that the mind does not want it to do. I've heard that it's like being torn in two."

"It is," Kisshu mumbled quietly.

"But," Retasu began, blushing, "didn't Kish-san once kiss Ichigo-san?" She forgot to drop the honorifics.

"Yes," Kisshu answered her. He turned to look at the blue and green mews that sat on the couch. "Why do think I went psycho? Do you think it feels good to have yourself torn apart?" He was starting to get angry.

"Then why did you kiss her?" Zakuro's cold voice sliced through the tense atmosphere.

Kisshu shrugged. "How was I supposed to know that things didn't happen the same way with humans? How was I to know that she wouldn't become as equally bonded to me? It took me a few years to return to myself, even after the bond broke when I died."

Retasu and Minto remembered Ichigo telling them that Kisshu had come to her and apologized. But hearing things from his point of view convinced them that perhaps Ichigo had to do some apologizing of her own. Zakuro nodded in acknowledgement of the alien's sufferings, and even Ryou began to struggle with his prejudices. He knew what it was like to be torn in two. The loss of his parents had done something similar to him, and he had lived this way for so long that he wasn't sure what it meant to be whole. When he gazed at his enemy with sympathy, only then did he realize that this enemy had chosen to be his ally. _"And with both the knowledge and power that brings to our side…"_

Josué found himself speaking up. "But if you knew she was your enemy and assumed this bond-thing would hold, why did you kiss her in the first place? I mean, you two were at war." He was asking more about Ember than about Ichigo.

Kisshu gave a sad smile, which looked strange on his ever-smirking face, and whispered, "Perhaps I had secretly hoped for peace all along… Excuse me…" Then the air shivered around his slender frame, and he was gone.

The room was quiet, and the people in it barely dared to breathe.


	23. Fluff, Popcorn, and Salvation

Pai leaned back in the green fog and tried to find his inner calm. It had never been difficult before, only taking a matter of seconds. But now his former tranquility seemed to be something he could never obtain. _"Obey me,"_ he mentally ordered his body.

His muscles responded by becoming more tense. They literally ached, _"Go to her."_

"_No,"_ he forced the thought down. _"I cannot do that. She is our enemy."_ As much as the Cyniclon with lavender hair and matching eyes tried to relax, he couldn't. Actually, his strivings toward calmness had begun to produce the opposite effect. Whenever he closed his eyes; orbs of chocolate brown stared at him, pink lips danced in a suggestive smile, and long brown hair flew in the breeze. It made him quite restless, and he wasn't the only one to notice.

"Pai," Taruto looked at his teacher. The young lad had received his warrior apprenticeship at a rather remarkable age. He had been studying under Pai ever since he was five years old, and he had never seen his senior act this way. Pai was always calm and logical, the most task-oriented person that Taruto knew. But lately, his instructor had been paying very little attention to the world around him, always seeming to have his mind someplace else. It was very unlike him, and thirteen-year-old Taruto Itazura was worried.

"What is it?" Pai Murasaki asked his apprentice. Seeing the disheartened look on Taruto's face, he sat up. "What happened?"

"That's what I want to know!" exclaimed Taruto, on the verge of tears. "You never used to act like this before, so stop it!" The boy struggled to contain the drops of liquid that threatened to spill from his eyes. "Pai, you're…! … You're scaring me…" his voice trembled on the last three words.

Pai put his hand on Taruto's shoulder. "I apologize if it evokes fear in you, Taruto. I shall try my best to overcome this, but I may not be able. I need you to stay strong regardless of what happens to me, alright?"

Taruto blinked in shock, a single tear freeing itself and rolling down his cheek unnoticed. He had never seen Pai allow so much emotion before. Whatever was happening, it was serious. The pubescent alien swiped at his eyes with the back of his hands, erasing the tears that had gathered there. He then met the eyes of his closest friend and said, "Okay Pai."

Gentiel had watched this scene with an observing mind. He had noticed the change in the oldest Aquite. Pai Murasaki was hiding something, and Gentiel Sasayaiku would figure out what.

* * *

Berri and Tasuku sat on the plane they had managed to catch after being stranded at the airport. The blue mew had stomped her foot and shrieked, "That boy is not coming on my plane!" while Retasu looked on sympathetically. So now Berri was staring out the window of a plane that was five hours behind Minto's. She sighed gently.

"Berri, are you alright?" asked Tasuku, practicing his English.

"Huh?" the girl with the long, platinum blonde hair seemed to snap out of a daze. "Oh yeah… fine."

_"_No you're not." Tasuku smiled gently at her. "I can see it in your face. Here." He unfolded his arms and Berri leaned into his tender embrace. Even though he had started to hug the other mews to cheer them up, this was the special hug he saved just for Berri. Only she got this gentle, intimate embrace, her head resting on his chest. It was somewhat awkward with the arm of the airplane seat in the way, but it conveyed no less emotion.

She tilted her head backward to look into his eyes. "Thanks, Tasuku," she grinned up at him, her mahogany irises shining. "I needed that."

"No problem, honey bunny," he murmured soothingly as he stroked her hair. She giggled softly at the English nickname he had given her. Gently pulling away, she turned to look out the window again. But this time she had a smile on her face.

* * *

They had waited for Kisshu to reappear. When he didn't, Ryou spoke. "Girls, why don't you entertain our guests? This is a lot to absorb. I think you could all use a break."

"Okay," Raquel nodded.

"What should we do?" asked Emma.

"How about laser tag?" suggested Josué.

"So you can use your technopath power to win? I don't think so," Ember growled.

"How about a movie?" suggested Aimee.

"Okay," Ember nodded.

"Alright!" hollered Raquel, jumping from the couch and pumping her fist in the air. The sudden movement caused her dark blonde hair to swish a little.

"Yoshi!" (Good!) Minto stood as well, mocking the girl's enthusiasm in attempt to embarrass her. Raquel mistook it for equal excitement on Minto's part.

"Woo!" screamed the fox mew, smiling at Minto. The lorikeet girl blinked her big, brown eyes and chuckled, liking that Raquel had let it roll off of her back.

Retasu smiled at them; then glanced across the room at Grace. The redhead smiled in the wingback chair. Retasu noticed that the swan mew's gaze was on the remaining alien in the room.

Chaim had a quizzical look on his face. "What's a movie?"

Josué's jaw tightened a little, and he cleared his throat. "He can't go, can he?" asked the technopath in a voice that implied he already knew the affirmative.

Ryou had already gone back to his room, so Keiichiro stepped in to give advice of the extraterrestrial kind. "It probably wouldn't be a good idea."

Chaim gave the baker a disappointed look. Whatever a movie was, he wanted to experience it now that someone said he couldn't.

"People would probably stare at him," Minto snarked. "He has those ears, after all."

Chaim blinked. He chuckled a little to himself, a bit ashamed to have forgotten his own appearance. If this movie was a public thing, it would only be wise for him to miss out. "Of course," he said.

"He can go if he puts up an invisibility field," suggested Grace. "He does that at my house, so why not do it in public?" The Cynclonian prince smiled at her efforts to include him.

"He doesn't _need_ to come," Josué frowned.

The words intensified Chaim's inferiority complex. A dark blue eyebrow twitched over a light blue eye as he fought the urge to send the teenager flying across the room. "I've decided," Chaim growled in Josué's direction, "that I don't like you."

"Psh, whatever," the technopath shrugged. What was one more enemy?

* * *

In the end, Ember decided to stay home and wait for Kisshu. Grace thought Josué was awfully rude for excluding Chaim, so the alien and the swan mew returned to her abode where she decided to teach the Cyniclon how to play chess.

Raquel, Emma, Josué, Aimee, Minto, Retasu and Zakuro all went to Tinseltown Theater. While Josué, Zakuro, Emma and Retasu went to the ticket counter, it was the job of Aimee, Raquel and Minto to get the refreshments. Finding it difficult to carry seven sodas and three buckets of popcorn, they sent Minto to get Emma and Retasu to help. The five girls were heading to where Josué and Zakuro waited on an indoor bench, when Raquel literally bumped into someone.

Popcorn was sent flying into the air, and soda likewise to the floor. The other girl in the collision shrieked in a startled manner. Retasu let out a gasp. Aimee reprimanded, "Raquel, watch where you're going." Emma and Minto began to laugh.

Raquel giggled, "Sorry. My bad."

"That's okay," replied the other girl. "I should have been paying more attention."

"Hey, I know you, don't I?" Raquel asked the girl.

The other teen blinked her blue eyes at Raquel as she stood up. Her light blonde hair swished from the motion. "I don't think so."

"Yeah, yeah I do," nodded Raquel. You're Victory Blue, right?"

"Yes, yes I am," Victory replied.

"See! I knew I knew you! Aimee, remember Victory? She goes to our school!"

"I'm right here, Raquel. You don't have to yell." Aimee winced.

"Right, sorry!" Raquel shouted. Victory giggled. "Well," Raquel turned to look at Victory again, "we have to get to our movie now-"

"And buy more popcorn?" Aimee raised an eyebrow to the puffy kernels that lay scattered on the floor, some of them soaked in orange Fanta.

"Yeah, that too," Raquel giggled. "But I'll see you around?"

"Okay," Victory nodded as she made her way to the ticket booth, her hair flying over her shoulders as she tossed it back.

"I'll be right back," muttered an only slightly embarrassed Raquel. She turned back to the concession stand to replace the spilled snacks.

* * *

Kisshu hovered along, not understanding himself. _"Have I subconsciously desired peace from the very beginning? Was that truly the reason I kissed Ichigo? I don't know… I wasn't sure when I said it, but the more I think about it, the truer it seems._

"_Did I just make it look like I was doing my job when in reality I was stalling for an opportunity? I never truly tried to kill the Mews. I made threats but never took them seriously. That time when I trapped Mews Mint, Lettuce and Pudding in the sinking sand dimension, I was so surprised when Zakuro broke them out. But then upon later inspection, I had left the door wide open. Did I want them to escape?_

"_And the time when I woke Ichigo from the power of the dream Chimera, freeing the Mews that were trapped in her mind and ruining one of Pai's best experiments, had I truly intended to help them?_

"_What truly caused me to turn against Deep Blue? Was it my bond to Ichigo, or was it something more? Perhaps there was a premonition just below my field of consciousness that made me realize that Deep Blue wasn't good for either Earth or my people. If so, Blood Red may be just as bad, or worse._

"_I knew all of this all along, didn't I? But something brought it to the forefront. What was it?_

"_It was Ember,"_ he concluded. _"The words she said that night on the bridge; when she suggested peace, I felt so… relieved. It was like I had waited for someone to say it but I didn't know why."_

It was Josué's question that made him realize why. "Why did you kiss her in the first place?" Kisshu had let his mind use his lips freely and found the answer. It was weird. He felt like he had somewhat of a purpose now.

While Ember had been sick, he had found another book to read. This was called, "Bible". Kisshu soon discovered that it was a historical tome, records of genealogies and battles scored among its pages. It was also a record of Ember's God, the one that had allowed her to love him. He had read that humans prayed, and sometimes were answered. He had read about how this God sent his son to a death sentence to save the Earth from an evil known as sin. The book told how all had sin in their lives, and this death was atonement for it. Kisshu wasn't sure if this atonement was only for humans, but he figured a God that loved that much surely wouldn't be racist.

Kisshu now felt like it was this God who had allowed him to meet Ember and be with her. This was the God who had allowed him to discover his purpose, for it wouldn't have been found without Ember. Kisshu was unsure how to pray, but he tried. Raising his face to the sky, he whispered, "Arigato, Kami-sama." (Thank you, God.) He was answered in a growth of this feeling of purpose and a strengthening of his resolve. "Arigato, Kami-sama," he repeated as he lowered his head. He was thinking, _"So what do I do now?"_ when he saw another Cyniclon materialize below him. Pai.

* * *

Pai had felt like he was being watched. Gentiel seemed to be spending less time in the temple today. This made Pai nervous. The lilac-haired warrior was already having enough trouble relaxing, so he decided to leave.

Hovering above some factory near a skate-park, he saw the last person he expected to see hovering right beside him "Kisshu," Pai frowned, "what do you want?"

Kisshu sighed, "Pai, don't be like this… I know what happened."

Pai was a little surprised, but concealed completely. "What do you mean?"

"Emma… she's kind of been bragging about it," Kisshu answered. Pai just pursed his lips and stayed silent. "You're fighting it, aren't you?" Kisshu asked, referring to the Bond. Pai closed his eyes and moved his head slightly downward. Kisshu clenched his teeth for a moment, and then shouted, "Do you know how unwise that is?"

Pai opened his eyes and turned his head toward Kisshu, frowning. The green-haired Cyniclon sighed and began again. "All I'm saying is that I've been there. With Ichigo, I repressed it for a while. I held myself together until I ran out of energy to do so, and then I was torn in two. I've learned the hard way that the heart doesn't succumb to the mind. It has to be the other way around. The Bond won't allow anything else, Pai. And if your mind doesn't submit soon, your heart will force it to by taking control of your body. That's when you do the things you never thought yourself capable of. That is the moment you become insane. And it will take years for you to be yourself again." Kisshu met Pai's purple eyes with his amber ones. "Don't fight it, Pai. That's a battle you can only lose."

"I must fight it," Pai answered gravely, "because I must fight her. I will do what is best for our people."

"As will I," stated Kisshu, and Pai stared at the exile in shock. "But you'll have to forgive me if I have a different opinion of what that is… Really Pai, it seems as though your split will be even worse than mine. You will not only be torn between heart and mind, but between two futures, two factions, and two faiths. I just hope that whatever you decide, you decide for yourself."

"What do you mean by that?" Pai asked warily.

"You've always bowed to authority instead of choosing for yourself. You've let others tell you what to do instead of deciding your own path. Only children follow so blindly. Open your eyes and see that you really do have a choice!"

"Kisshu, why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Pai, I am not your enemy. I am your friend." And with those words, Kisshu Ikisatashi vanished.

Pai Murasaki floated over to the roof of the factory and sat on the railing. The eldest Aquite had some thinking to do, and a decision to make.

* * *

Kisshu teleported back into Ember's bedroom. "You're back!" she exclaimed, rising from the wood-and-wicker chair at her desk. She went and hugged him. "Where were you?"

"Just floating around," he replied. "I had to think about a couple of things." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his hip. Then he bent his head down and gave her a kiss. She returned it happily, just glad that he was back.


	24. Entertaining the Guests, Indeed

Pai's restlessness had rubbed off on Taruto. The adolescent alien teleported to the roof of a place he had heard was popular among humans. Pai's odd behavior had Taruto feeling uneasy, an emotion he didn't much like. So he wasn't going to focus on it. Instead, he would distract himself from this insecurity. A decent Chimera Anima was needed for such a task.

A bee buzzed past Taruto's ear. He swatted at it mindlessly, giving more thought to finding a parasite host than to this insect. Then his brain ran a synapse and the boy grinned wolfishly, grabbing the bee by the wing.

* * *

"That one scene was so epic!" Raquel guffawed. Emma chuckled too.

"I don't understand why it was so funny," Minto huffed.

"It was English slang. You can't be expected to know all of it. Don't worry, I didn't think the joke was that great," Josué politely supplied.

"Eh? Honto?" (Really?) Minto momentarily switched back to Japanese.

"Pardon?" Josué asked.

This was a word not in Minto's vocabulary, so she countered, "What?"

Josué started laughing. "It seems we have a bit of a language barrier," he eyed her amusedly.

"I suppose we do…" Minto answered, blushing.

Walking outside to the parking lot, they saw something they didn't expect. There was a giant black-and-yellow Chimera Anima with six arms and four legs. It had four enormous, faceted eyes. Large pincers protruded from its face, and two antennae extended from the top of its head and seemed to crackle with energy. Four large wings stretched out of its back, and it had a large stinger sticking out of its rear.

"Ah! It's a bee!" screamed Josué, running to duck behind anything that was nearby.

Minto huffed and crossed her arms. "I guess we have no choice, do we?" Taking out her pendant, she kissed it. "Mew Mew Mint, METAMORPHOSIS!"

"Mew Mew Zakuro, METAMORPHOSIS!"

"Mew Mew Lettuce, METAMORPHOSIS!"

The Wild Mews that were present also transformed.

"Huh?" Mint heard an all-too-familiar voice say. "It's you guys again? But I thought you were in Japan." Taruto floated out from behind the Chimera Anima.

"Taruto!" snapped Mint, clenching her gloved fists.

"Konichiwa," (Hello) he waved. "Hey, where's Pudding?"

"S- She's at home," Lettuce answered.

"Really?" Taruto shrugged. "Not like it matters or anything. Go, Chimera Anima!"

The bee monster lunged at the six mews.

* * *

The beeping of various machines brought Ryou to the basement. The mews had transformed at the movie theater. He dashed upstairs to tell Ember.

Bursting through the door, he was surprised to see that Kisshu had returned, but dismissed it as unimportant under the circumstances. "Ember," he panted, "the mews transformed at Tinseltown. I don't know what's happening, but I'll contact Grace and tell her to get there. You hurry to help."

Ember nodded and transformed. She then jumped into Kisshu's arms, and the Cyniclon promptly teleported.

* * *

Chaim moved the bishop three spaces, stopping it two squares from Grace's king. "Like this?" he asked.

Grace sweat-dropped. "Uh… yeah, that's checkmate." Her green eyes wearied with defeat.

Suddenly, her phone rang with Emily Osment's "Hero in Me" and lit up with a name from her contacts: _Ryou._

"_Grace, head to Tinseltown Theater. There seems to be a disturbance of some kind,"_ yelled the young man on the other end of the connection.

Grace nodded to the phone as if Ryou could see her, then stood up from the chessboard and transformed. White-blonde hair with a tiara set upon it, caramel eyes, a feathery tutu, and large swan wings made up the beautifully dangerous En Pointe.

Now it was Chaim's turn to sweat-drop. "Come now, Grace. Don't be a – what is it Earthlings call it? – a sore loser."

She laughed. "No , Chaim. We're going to the movies."

He raised an eyebrow. "Won't going as a Mew be more conspicuous?"

"I mean they're attacking the movie theater, Chaim. Let's go."

"Oh, right. Of course." He stood and hugged her close to him, causing her to blush. Then he teleported away with the swan mew in his arms.

* * *

Pai had decided he was never giving in to the bond, no matter what it did to him. This firmly resolved; he transported back to headquarters. There he was met by Gentiel. "Taruto has created a Chimera Anima. We will use this opportunity to further assess the skills of our enemies. Come, Pai." Pai nodded, and when Gentiel teleported, the lilac-haired alien jumped through his ripple.

Gentiel had lied. The only person whom he would observe in this battle was Pai.

* * *

"Ribbon Lettuce Rush!" A wall of water collided with the Chimera, soaking its wings and causing it to fall from the sky. It roared angrily, landing on its feet.

"Ribbon Zakuro's Pure!" A purple whip of energy hit the Chimera with an amazing amount of force, depriving the Anima of an arm.

Wild Tigress tried to freeze its feet in place, but it kept breaking free. Diamondback tried biting it, but the insect's hard exoskeleton was impossible to pierce. Taruto grinned. He had used a little of the gathered data in order to create this Chimera. It wouldn't be easy for them.

Bolt Noir called for her black bow as Mew Mint shouted, "Mint Arrow!"

The fox mew screamed, "Lightning shot!"

At the same time, Mint sang, "Ribbon Mint Echo!"

An arrow of metallic electricity and an arrow of sound energy both soared toward the Chimera. The monster bent forward and rubbed its antennae together, forming a sphere of energy that protected it from the attacks. The arrows destroyed the defense field rather than the Chimera Anima.

Kisshu appeared, holding Lone Wolf. Chaim also materialized with En Pointe. Pai and Gentiel suddenly hovered over the Chimera's head where there had been only air a moment ago.

Lone Wolf started to play with fire for the first time in a long while. She formed a ring of flames and shot it toward to Anima's eyes.

"Fuu Rai Sen!" Pai shouted, and a wave of counter-energy collided with the fire, both forms of heat vanishing in the effort to destroy each other.

"Plié!" En Pointe whipped out her orange ribbon and whacked the insect monster on its striped bottom. The bee-creature roared, and a surge of neuroshock energy emitted from its stinger. The swan mew leapt back, just short of being hit.

At this exact moment, Victory Blue exited the doors of the cinema to a scene of chaos. She gasped, and the Chimera dove right for her. Every mew watched in horror because the monster had moved too quickly for them to act, though Zakuro had tried. They all expected to see a blonde teenage girl ensnared in the pincers of a Chimera Anima. What they expected to see… didn't happen.

"Cyclone!" screamed an unknown voice, and suddenly the Chimera was pushed back by a burst of wind. Where Victory had once stood, there was now a girl dressed in a brilliant and iridescent blue dress. The skirt of this dress resembled flower petals, and on her feet was a pair of turquoise-colored silk slippers. Her hair was the same color as her shoes, and from her back sprouted the wings of Blue Morpho butterfly.

While everyone else stared at this phenomenon, Chaim saw a chance. Creeping toward the Chimera Anima, he stretched out his hand.

* * *

Gentiel noticed that Pai had been stealing glances at Mew Wild Tigress during the whole battle. The Ardenite mentally called for the weapon that he rarely ever used. It was a red throwing disk that, at his will, could protrude all sorts of different blades. The set that came out now made it look like a child's drawing of the sun. He hurled it at Mew Wild Tigress.

Pai felt something within himself react instinctively. Clutching his Thunder Fan, he dove toward the tiger mew and came between her and the blade disk. He knocked Gentiel's weapon away with his fan, and then seemed to realize what he had done. Stunned, he retreated to their dimension through a ripple while Taruto watched in dismay and fear.

Suddenly, the Chimera Anima let out an agonized scream. All turned to see Chaim pushing the full force of his telekinesis into the chest of the monster, which bled terribly. The parasite gave up its host, a now very squished-looking bee.

"Your highness…" muttered Taruto. He had not realized that the prince was helping the Mews, and so he did not understand Chaim's actions.

As Ember broiled the parasite in a ball of flame, ice blue eyes turned to stare at Gentiel. Chaim spoke, "You tell Blood Red that she has exiled the wrong person, for she has made a formidable enemy." His dark blue eyebrows furrowed into a wide V.

Gentiel's eyes widened slightly in what may have been an expression of fear. "Taruto, we're going," said the Ardenite stoically, his hazel-brown eyes hard. Then both he and Taruto teleported away.

* * *

Victory Blue stood dressed in an outfit she had never before seen. She seemed to feel air behind her at a distance that she ought not to be able to feel, as if something had extended out of her back. As she stared, dumbfounded, at the Mew Mews and aliens before her, she asked, "What the heck just happened?"


	25. Pai's Decision

**Author: This early update brought to you by Anony mouse, mostly so I can quell their fears. No worries Anony. I do not plan on leaving this story unfinished. I have written it all out in a series of notebooks, and it does have a finite end. I have already posted the entire black and pink notebooks' contents. Today starts the contents of the purple notebook. This means that we are very near this story's end, as the story ends before the notebook does. To all of my readers, and especially my most loyal reviewer, CelticLily, enjoy!**

* * *

Pai shamefully hung his head. It appeared Kisshu was right. His body had acted on its own to save Wild Tigress. His mind hadn't even realized what he was doing until he had done it. It was so strange to have his body move without his mind telling it to do so. Pai was beginning to feel helpless when Taruto and Gentiel returned.

Cold, hazel-brown eyes stared at Pai beneath blond eyebrows. "Pai," spoke the great warrior, "I know that you would not protect our enemy willingly. Please explain to me your actions."

Pai hesitated, but he reasoned that a punishment for direct aid of the enemy would be worse than the truth. "I'm bonded to her," he admitted shamefully.

Taruto gasped. "Pai, what do you mean?"

"I surmised as much," nodded Gentiel.

"Did you kiss her?" Taruto asked, aghast.

"No!" Pai's reply was vehement. Then his voice softened in embarrassment. "She forced herself on me."

"Pai…" Taruto looked like he was on the verge of tears. He knew that this was very serious.

"You've been emotionally compromised," Gentiel said matter-of-factly. "We can no longer rely on you for our major battle plans. Furthermore, you allowed this to happen, as I don't believe _that_ mew, of all mews, could overpower you. For that allowance, you must be punished." Pai merely hung his head, waiting for the verdict. Gentiel's next words hit him in his already aching heart. "You are no longer fit to have an apprentice. From now on, Taruto will learn from me."

Pai stared down in shock, barely hearing Taruto's loud objections. The greatest insult to a warrior, apart from losing his position, was losing his apprentice. They had been together so long that the little rascal seemed like his younger brother now. Recovering from the shock, Pai looked up.

Taruto was crying viciously and screaming, "No! No! You can't do this! Not to Pai! Not to Pai…" Gentiel held the adolescent Cyniclon back by the arm as he struggled to go comfort his former teacher.

"Taruto," Pai spoke, and the teenager was silenced, "he's right." Taruto stared up at him in disbelief. Pai nodded once. "This is what's best for you."

"Also," added Gentiel, "Pai, you are refused to enter the temple until further notice." Pai nodded again. "You are confined to your quarters until a better purpose is found for you." Pai grimaced, but nodded once more. "Now go," Gentiel commanded. And with one last nod, Pai left the room.

As he hovered to his bedroom, he could hear Taruto begin to protest again, the shouts and cries echoing the whole way. Reaching his destination, he sunk to the floor. For the first time since his early childhood, Pai Murasaki cried.

* * *

"Victory, you…" sputtered Bolt Noir.

"You are Mew Blue Morpho," Lone Wolf said, recognizing the wings and stepping forward for a handshake. "Welcome to the team." Spotting something behind the hedges, she sighed in exasperation. "Why are you hiding? You're supposed to help!"

Josué peeked out from behind the foliage. "I – I didn't have my costume."

Mew Mint teased him. "Hai, hai. And you didn't scream 'bee' like a small child before seeking cover, neh?" She giggled when he frowned at her.

"What does she mean 'I'm Mew Blue Morpho'?" asked Victory with a very confused look on her face.

"Ryou will explain it later," Bolt Noir smiled, Raquel's mindset taking over at the thought of the nekomimi hottie.

"Who's Ryou? And what the heck happened to my clothes? Not that this dress isn't pretty or anything…" Victory paused to scan her outfit.

Lone Wolf smiled at her. "You'll see when we get there."

* * *

By the time the girls got back, Berri and Tasuku had arrived. Ryou made the introductions and told the team that he had already explained the situation with the aliens. Berri had accepted it easier than the other Mews from Tokyo as she had never before fought the aliens.

Ryou was surprised that the girls had found another Wild Mew. Raquel took it upon herself to introduce the blue butterfly. "Ryou, this is Victory. She goes to the same school as Aimee and me." The overly peppy blonde then splayed her hands towards Victory like a model presenting a product. "And, she's a Mew Mew!"

"What the heck _is_ a Mew Mew?" Victory asked. "And why does he have cat ears?" she pointed to Ryou.

Ryou sighed, his cat ears flattening against his head. "Follow me," he instructed. Victory looked a little cautious and didn't move as Ryou walked to the basement door.

"Come on, I'll go with you!" Raquel patted her on the back and then pretty much shoved her forward, forcing her down the stairs after the nekomimi scientist.

* * *

Taruto's bottom lip quivered slightly. "Pai," he muttered. The pubescent Cyniclon sat on the steps of the temple and waited for his new tutor to come out. He didn't want to cry anymore, and bit his lip to stop its trembling. Fishing into his pocket, he pulled out an object that was wrapped in red cellophane. As he stared at the piece of candy, her voice came back to him:

"_It would be more fun if we played as friends na-no-da… Taru-Taru, you saved my life. Thank you, Taru-Taru! You're a friend… Even though I told you over and over," *sniffle* "that playing as friends would be more fun than fighting," *sniffle* "this happened." *sniffle* "WHY NA-NO-DA?"_

Taruto tightened his hand around the scarlet sphere. Looking back at all the chaos that came from fighting and its miniscule results, comparing it to their cooperation at the final Tokyo battle, he was forced to admit one thing. "You were right, Pudding." Sighing, he stared at the present she had given him so many years ago. "If only our species could help each other. But… That's impossible. If it we could, Kisshu wouldn't be exiled and Pai would still be my apprenticer."

It was then that Gentiel exited the temple and turned to Taruto. "Go and get Pai. There is a mission for him." Taruto nodded and rose from his seat.

* * *

The following day, Ichigo and Bu-Ling arrived. Ichigo was very shocked to see a certain green-haired Cyniclon on the couch.

"Hello Ichigo," he nodded. Just… nodded. No smirk. Not even a smile. He sat there, not rising from his seat to try and force a kiss on her. And… he had called her 'Ichigo'. He had actually called her by her given name instead of 'koneko-chan' or 'nekomimi-chan' or some other pet-name. His eyes held little to no emotion for her, a stark contrast from when he had died at her feet after a failed attempt to save her life. All of this she noticed, but his presence still irked her and frightened her enough to cause her cat ears to pop out of their hiding place and her tail to snake around her left leg.

"K- K-K – Kisshu? What are _you_ doing here?" she stammered.

Ember recognized this girl from the training video; the cat-eared one whom Kisshu had always been trying to kiss. Ember sighed and stood up. "I'm Ember," she introduced herself, "otherwise known as Wild Mew Lone Wolf. I'm the leader of American Mew Mew. It's nice to meet you, Ms. Momomiya." She forced herself to be civil.

"Hai," Ichigo nodded nervously.

"Hello there, na-no-da!" chirped Bu-Ling, hopping onto one foot and waving her hand excitedly.

"Ichigo, where should I put the suitcases?" came a male voice from the doorway.

"Ano…" (Umm….) Ichigo hesitated and looked into Masaya's eyes. She promptly got lost in them.

"Ichigo…?" he inquired.

"Right over there is fine," said Ember, gesturing to a place near the wingback chair that sat against the wall, near the door.

"Arigato," (Thanks) he smiled at her in a friendly manner. Ember found herself frowning; he reminded her of how Josué used to act when they were together. As Masaya Aoyama sat down the suitcases, he spotted Kisshu and froze. "Why is he here?" Masaya asked, staring at the alien.

Ember scowled now. Then, with an air of defiance, she lifted her head high and turned around to where Kisshu sat on the couch. "Okamino-chan?" Kisshu saw something in her eyes that he hadn't ever before seen and he wondered what it could possibly be.

Ichigo gasped and clasped her hand over her mouth. Bu-Ling blinked and asked, "Why is he calling you that, na-no-da? And why are you not bad about it?"

"I think the word you're looking for is 'mad', Bu-Ling," Masaya corrected her, standing up from the suitcases.

"Right, na-no-da!"

To answer her question, Ember forcefully grabbed Kisshu by the shirt and pulled him close. He raised his eyebrows; half in fear and half in intrigue. Just as forcefully, her lips closed over to his, and Kisshu decided he liked the answer to Bu-Ling's question very much. When the kiss broke, Kisshu had a wolfish grin on his face. Ember looked back over her shoulder to a very shocked trio of persons.

The blonde fourteen-year-old monkey mew spoke first. "What the na-no-da!"

"That pretty much sums it up…" Ichigo agreed while Masaya just stood there looking like an idiot.

Then there was a knock on the door, and Ember answered it as everyone else was too frozen to move; three from confusion and one (Kisshu) from pleasured shock that she had been so aggressive just now.

When she saw who stood there, Ember put her right hand on the corresponding hip. "What the heck are you doing here? And why do you come over every day anyways?"

"Ouch," Josué raised an eyebrow. "You know, there was a time when you were happy to see me."

"Yeah, well, everybody goes through an idiot phase," she retorted.

Emma, who had just walked into the room, stated, "Well, it looks like someone's PMS-ing."

Ember bit her lip and turned to her adopted sister. Considering her own actions, she muttered, "You might be right about that." She turned to her alien boyfriend. "Come on, Kish. I feel like I need to hit something and I don't want it to be a person."

Kisshu chuckled. "It seems our roles are reversed today, neh? Okay, kawaii-chan." He teleported behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. The couple vanished in a ripple of air.

"Na-no-da, na-no-da, na-no-da, na-no-da," recited Bu-Ling, unsure of what else to say.

"Well, that was surprising," smiled Masaya.

"Tell me about it," Ichigo mumbled. In her head, she was wondering, _"What does it say about you if your stalker is able to move on?"_

Keiichiro came into the room at this moment, on his way to the kitchen. "Akasaka-san," said Ichigo.

The chef turned to her. "Ah, Ichigo-san, Bu-Ling-san, and Aoyama-san. You're all here," the brunette smiled like a gentleman.

"Akasaka-san, why did Mew Lone Wolf just kiss Kisshu?" asked a blushing Ichigo.

"She _what_?" Josué yelped.

"Hai, na-no-da. And quite strongly, na-no-da," Bu-Ling confirmed.

Josué looked a little stricken. He hated being reminded that he had her and lost her to an extraterrestrial elf. It was a severe blow to his ego.

"Kisshu, along with his cousin Chaim," Keiichiro began to explain, "has decided to join us in our endeavor to protect Earth. This may or may not be due to his romantic relationship with Lone Wolf. But either way, it brings strength and information to our side."

"Eh? Really?" Ichigo asked.

Emma spoke up. "The way I heard it from Kisshu, it was all his fault." She pointed at Josué. "If Josué had never cheated on her, she'd probably still be going out with him and Kisshu would probably still be our enemy." With everybody looking at him, Josué sweat-dropped. "I guess you kind of deserve a 'Thank You' card, huh?" Emma finished.

"When did you talk to Kisshu?" Keiichiro asked her kindly.

"Well," Emma answered, "he was holed up in her room for two months while she was unconscious. He needed _someone_ to talk to."

Chaim appeared in the living room holding Grace bridal-style, one arm under her shoulders, the other under her knees. He placed her gently on the floor and greeted everyone with a smile.

Keiichiro had just said, "Ichigo, Masaya, Bu-Ling, this is Chaim and Mew En Pointe," when another figure appeared in the room.

Lilac hair, purple eyes and long, pointy ears were the features of his face. He hung his head in an embarrassed, yes _embarrassed_, manner and said, "It seems Kisshu was right. I can't fight this anymore."


	26. PMS and a Robbery

**Author: Just realized it as I posted the last chapter. Anony mouse. Anonymous. -_- I see what you did there.**

* * *

"Alien! Alien!" Masha squeaked, popping out of Ichigo's purse.

"You're a little late, Masha," she snapped at the robot.

"But- but-" Masha tried, but was silenced with an angry glare from Ichigo. The pink fluff-ball let out a sigh.

Chaim and Ryou both started to approach the elephant – er, alien – in the room. When the nekomimi spotted movement on the part of the prince, he stopped, figuring the issue would be better handled by someone of the same race; someone who actually comprehended the issue.

"To what are you referring, Pai?" asked Chaim in a gentle, princely voice.

Pai looked across the room at Emma and replied, "The Bond." His eyes held signs of restraint regardless of his earlier words.

Chaim raised an eyebrow. "If you say you can't fight it, kindly explain what you are doing now."

Pai stared at the floor and blushed, yes _blushed_, as he said, "Well, I don't want to embarrass her…"

Chaim nodded as if that were the correct answer. Ichigo and Bu-Ling exchanged a confused look. Chaim turned to the tiger mew. "Emma, do you accept what he is offering?"

"Accept what?" Emma titled her head like a curious cat.

If it was princely to face-palm, Chaim would have done so. Instead, Grace did it for him. The redhead walked over and began to whisper explanations in the brunette's ear.

"Oh!" Emma exclaimed, having a light bulb moment. She looked at Pai and shrugged. "I guess," she giggled. "He is kinda cute."

"Wait – what?" Ichigo asked.

"Things seem very different this time, na-no-da," Bu-Ling stated. She was just about to go into Sherlock Holmes mode when the other Tokyo Mews filed their way down the stairs/hall from whatever room they had stayed in the night before. "Minah!" (Everyone!) Bu-Ling squeaked in Japanese, jumping happily. But no one was looking at her. They all stared at Pai.

"What is he doing here?" asked an accusatory Minto.

"You guys are about to get a taste of the craziness that goes on around here," Ryou mumbled.

"Pai is here about _that thing_ that Emma announced yesterday," Chaim told the group, raising his eyebrows on the words 'that thing'.

"I see," Zakuro said coldly.

At the same time, Minto blurted, "H- Honto?" (R- Really?)

Retasu merely blushed. Berri and Tasuku nodded, exchanging a look. Ryou had told them all about it.

"Huh? What thing?" asked a rather clueless Ichigo. Ryou leaned over and began to whisper the explanation in her ear. "Eh?" she exclaimed, her cat ears twitching wildly. "Something like that happens? But… Kisshu!" Ichigo's face grew as red as the fruit for which she was named. "Th- That means… Dehmo (But)… Wolf-san…" Ichigo trailed off.

This whole time, Bu-Ling was jumping and screaming, "Something like what happens, na-no-da?"

"Bu-Ling-san," Retasu said gently, "I think you're too young to know."

"What do you mean? I'm not a child anymore, na-no-da!"

"Then why do you still talk like one?" Minto asked, getting aggravated.

The budding argument was interrupted when Chaim asked Pai, "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Because," Pai began, "if I was planning on going against you, I wouldn't tell you this.

"As I assume you know, we've been collecting data on your attacks. All of that data has gone toward making one invincible Chimera Anima. _That_ Chimera Anima… hatches tomorrow."

Grace's green eyes shone with fear, and Emma's brown eyes grew wide as she exclaimed, "Dude!" dragging out the vowel sound to convey her astonishment.

Pai looked at her, eyes sparkling, and asked the room, "Do you believe me now?"

* * *

Lone Wolf roasted the next Chimera with ease, then char-broiled the parasite with a ball of flame as well.

"Better yet?" Kisshu inquired.

"Yes, much. Thank you," she replied, returning to her normal form as Ember. "You know, we should do this more often. We could bring the whole team and make it a training exercise."

Kisshu laughed, thinking it was a joke, before noticing the expression on her face. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, it would be good practice," she nodded.

"I don't know what this PMS thing is," Kisshu began, "but I think I like it."

Ember laughed, "You're probably the first."

Suddenly, the wind picked up and a girl with blue hair and butterfly wings landed on the rooftop. "Blue Morpho, what's up?" Ember asked.

"Oh, I'm just practicing my skills," smiled the blue mew.

"Good," Ember replied. "Us too."

"Huh?" Kisshu mumbled in a confused tone. "I thought this was helping your PMS." He turned to the newest Mew. "What _is_ PMS?" Blue Morpho sweat-dropped.

Ember looked like she was about to explode. "Kisshu, this isn't anything to do with PMS! I said it was to keep from hitting a person. Someone back home was ticking me off, _not_ due to PMS in _any_ way, so I wanted to leave before I punched them in their cat-eared face!" Her hands quickly flew over her mouth as soon as she stopped speaking, and Kisshu was giving her a stunned stare.

"How did Ryou tick you off?" asked Blue Morpho. Ember sweat-dropped, and Kisshu cracked a small smile.

"Kawaii-chan, you're not jealous of Ichigo, are you?" he smirked.

She crossed arms in front of her chest and huffed, "Shut up!"

"You are, aren't you?" he prodded again.

"I said, 'shut up'!" she snapped back.

Blue Morpho sweat-dropped again. "Not even a dog will touch a fight between lovers, and I'm a meager butterfly. I'm outta here. See y'all later." The wind picked up again and the blue butterfly girl sailed into the sky.

Kisshu grinned at Ember mischievously. "Would you stop it?" she grouched. "It's not funny."

"Well… I like it," he replied. "Although, why would you be jealous of her? I mean, she has that Masaya loser."

"She was…" Ember murmured softly, "your first kiss."

"Okamino-chan," Kisshu soothed, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her and whispering in her ear. "If you think that's a good reason to be jealous, then I should be jealous of that Josué guy. But… I'm not. I'm actually thankful to him. Do you know why?"

"Why?" she asked, turning her head in attempt to look him in the eye.

"Because he made the mistake of not being your last kiss, and that allowed you to be with me, neh?" He kissed the left side of her neck on the hairline, and then made a trail of kisses up to the base of her ear. "So, you should be grateful to Ichigo too. If she had accepted me, we never would have met."

"But she didn't," Ember finished, turning around in his arms. "And now you're mine," she growled possessively.

Kisshu chuckled, "Our roles really are reversed today."

Ember grinned sheepishly. "Okay. Maybe it does have a _little_ something to do with PMS…"

Kisshu and Ember teleported back to find; Pai and Emma kissing each other, a very nauseous-looking Ichigo sprawled in near-faint across the wingback chair, and Chaim hovering in the air with a complex and contemplative expression on his face. Kisshu blinked his large, golden eyes twice before inquiring of Ryou, "Did we miss something?"

* * *

_3 hours later… (Yes, it took that long to sort everything out.)_

"Ryou," Ember spoke up. "You said that once everyone arrived, you would tell us why you're sprouting animal parts. We're only missing Raquel, Aimee, and Victory. I think you can tell us now."

Ryou sighed, his cat ears drooping forward a little. "Alright. I suppose I have been putting this off for too long."

Each of the Tokyo Mews stared at him with looks of; sympathy, worry, confusion, interest, curiosity, and the stoic expression for which she was famous. Grace was giving him her undivided attention, much as Chaim was doing for her. Pai leaned against the wingback chair, in which Emma sat. Josué stood in the corner with Masaya, and Tasuku sat on the couch. Kisshu was also sitting on the couch, with Ember in his lap.

Keiichiro sat next to Ryou as the blue-eyed blond began to explain everything. "As Ichigo already knows, I did not recklessly dive into the Mew Project. I studied it for years before finally developing the serum. Once that was done, I became the lab rat in the final experiment. Minto, Retasu, Bu-Ling, Zakuro, Berri, and Ichigo; I tested the Mew Project serum on myself before injecting any of you.

"And ever since then I have been able to change back and forth between cat and human forms. I knew that my lack of the proper genetic code would cause the animal DNA in my body to eventually take over. I didn't expect it until my thirties.

"However, I either miscalculated, or this is a side effect that isn't able to be calculated. I recall my timing on Ichigo's side effect was also off."

"Huh? What side effect?" Kisshu asked, interrupting.

"How Ichigo turns into a cat whenever she gets k- mmph!" Bu-Ling's mouth was suddenly covered by Ichigo's hand.

"Shut. Your. Mouth. Bu-Ling," Ichigo hissed through gritted teeth.

Ryou, noticing that he was no longer the center of attention, got up to leave the room, much like a moody cat whose owner refused to rub his belly. Everyone watched him leave, most wondering what had made him get so suddenly upset.

Suddenly, Ryou let out an agonized feline hiss and collapsed to the ground in a burst of blue light, causing everyone to shield their eyes from the brightness. When the field of blue cleared, Keiichiro was the first on his feet.

"Ryou! Ryou!" screamed the baker, kneeling next to the last place he had seen his friend. The brunette picked up a small, grey tomcat. "Ryou…" a tear slid down Keiichiro's cheek, and he hastily wiped it away. He brought the cat to his shoulder in a hug, trying to keep from shaking. He knew by the scream that Ryou hadn't willed for this transformation; it had happened on its own, the final stage of the DNA's takeover.

Everyone looked on in sorrow, assuming that this was the end of their nekomimi leader. Even Pai seemed slightly moved by this scientist's dedication.

And then from the little grey cat there emitted another strong burst of light. When it ended, Ryou was back to his human form, still with the cat ears and tail. "B- Baka," the blond nekomimi stuttered, "why are you hugging me?" He pushed Keiichiro off and stood up. "We both knew this day would come. The sacrifice was worth it. Don't make yourself look like a fool."

"Ryou…" Keiichiro said, in shock.

"What the heck was that?" screamed Ichigo. "I thought you died, Shirogane-san!"

"Baka," Ryou looked at her. "Turning into a cat doesn't mean I've died. However, it seems I've lost control over my ability to change forms. It will probably happen at random now, so don't freak out."

Everyone stared at him with expressions that conveyed, "You can't be serious."

* * *

Shortly after arriving back at her house, Grace caught the Cynclonian prince staring at her. "What are you looking at?" she asked, her cheeks taking on that slightly reddish tint.

He too blushed a little at being caught. "Just something I think is pretty," he replied in a princely voice before retreating to his room through a ripple and putting up his invisibility shield.

Back in her bedroom, Grace's face was as red as her hair.

* * *

It was later that night. Much later. The Tokyo Mews were all scattered on the living room floor in various sleeping bags, some emitting noises in their slumber. Masaya was sharing Ryou's room, and Tasuku was rooming with Keiichiro. Kisshu stroked the sleeping Ember's hair and fell in and out of small dozes himself. But Pai was very much awake. He sat on the bed next to a dreaming Emma.

Quite a few people protested to him sharing her room, but Emma had met all objections with, "It's okay guys. It's not like it's a big deal or anything." It resulted in an awkward silence because no one knew how to reply. If anyone had eventually thought of something, the silence had lasted long enough to be taken as quiet acceptance.

"_She's not nearly as dumb as she seems,"_ Pai had observed.

Now, he began to hover slightly above the bed, careful not to wake her. The air shivered around his body, and then he found himself in the living room.

"Alien! Alien!" Masha chirped, popping up beside Ichigo's head.

"Masha, I know. It's okay. They're upstairs," she mumbled and rolled back over, returning to the land of dreams.

"But, but-" Masha protested. Ichigo slept on.

Pai let out a relieved breath. That had been too close. He began to search for the six objects. He found one on a table next to the couch, another on a mew's luggage set, one more on the floor by a mew's head. He found others in various places. The last one was Ichigo's. He turned at just the right angle, at precisely the right moment, and saw a flash of light reflecting off of the object under her pillow. As gently as he could, he slipped his hand underneath and grabbed it.

"Ichigo, wake up! Ichigo, wake up!" Masha warned.

Pai grabbed the fluffy robot and squeezed him tightly. _"I can't have them finding it out now. If their knowledge of it is delayed only a few hours, it will be enough."_ So believing, he vanished, taking Masha and the six objects with him.


	27. Chimera Ultima

**Author: Be prepared, guys. This chapter is a little jumpy.**

* * *

Retasu and Bu-Ling were the first to wake up that morning. While Retasu mumbled to herself and wondered why her hair was in her face, Bu-Ling hopped out of her sleeping bag and walked over to the end table by the couch. She had left it there last night, and was surprised to find it missing.

"Where is it, na-no-da? I put it on the cable last night na-no-da."

"I think you mean 'table' Bu-Ling-san. And what is it that you can't find?" Retasu corrected her friend before inquiring of her while putting on her glasses.

"My pendant, na-no-da! It's gone, na-no-da! It was here last night Retasu. I don't know what happened to it, na-no-da."

Retasu's blue eyes widened behind her lenses as she gasped. She quickly went to check if hers was still sitting on top of the duffle bag that she had used as a suitcase. It was not. "Where could they be?" she asked in a frantic voice.

Minto was awoken by this voice, and she mumbled as she sat up, "What is the cause of all this noise?"

Retasu, in her shock began speaking in Japanese. "Minto-san… Gomen nasai, dehmo-" (Minto… I'm sorry, but-) Then she was interrupted by Bu-Ling.

"Our pendants are missing, na-no-da!"

"N- Nani?" (W- What?) Minto sat up slowly.

"Really?" asked Berri. She had been woken up by Bu-Ling's outburst and, lacking a morning sleep-haze, had understood the monkey mew's words. The rabbit mew looked to the side of her pillow, the last place she had seen her pendant before drifting off last night. It wasn't there. And similarly, the other mews awoke.

* * *

Ryou and Masaya walked down the hallway and into a realm of chaos. Couch cushions were removed from their places and scattered about the floor. Sleeping bags were unzipped and lying wrinkled and messy in lumps on the carpet. All forms of luggage were opened with clothes spilling out of them. Ichigo ran around screaming, "Masha! Masha, where are you?" And even Zakuro's face looked panicked.

Ryou put his hands on his hips. "What the heck is going on in here? It looks like my house was torn apart by hurricane Mew Mew."

"Shirogane-san…" Retasu peeped, and then suddenly the two boys were surrounded by six girls that were all screaming and making wild gestures with their hands.

"I can't understand when you all speak at once!" Ryou exclaimed. "Now, Retasu, what happened?"

The green-haired mew blushed as she spoke, "Well, Shirogane-san, we woke up this morning and it seems our mew pendants are nowhere to be found." Her eyebrows furrowed upward in a worrisome expression behind her glasses.

"I can't find Masha either!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Nani?" (What?) Ryou looked alarmed. "How could those important things be missing?" He pressed his right hand to his forehead. The Tokyo Mew Mews couldn't transform without their pendants. If that big Chimera was hatching today, the six girls he had called in as reinforcements would be totally useless without their powers.

At this moment, Emma descended the staircase. She stopped halfway down upon seeing the crowd of people that had gathered at its bottom. "Hey guys," she asked with a sleepy yawn, "has anyone seen Pai? He wasn't there when I woke up."

All of the Mews and Ryou turned their heads to look at her. It was this bit of information that made everything suddenly clear. Emma was confused by all of the stares she was receiving. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "What?"

* * *

Later that afternoon; Lone Wolf, En Pointe, Diamondback, Bolt Noir, Wild Tigress, Blue Morpho, Kisshu, Chaim and Ryou were all headed to the KFC Yum Center. This was the enemy's chosen target. According to Ryou's computers, this battle would be major. And thanks to Pai, everyone knew why. This was the battle against the worst Chimera any Mew had ever faced. Ryou had even joined this fight today, offering what little abilities he had from his cat-like features.

It was already there when they arrived. Upon seeing this Chimera Anima, even Kisshu's face went paler than normal. "How the heck did they make _that_?" he asked no one in particular.

It was a gargantuan beast. This Chimera was five stories tall while standing on all fours. When it rose on its back legs, its height increased to eight stories. It was black all over with glowing red eyes. The monster had the head of a gazelle, the body of a bear, the legs of a lion, the wings of an eagle and the tail of a serpent. The creature seemed to be made of darkness itself, the dimension of its form difficult to comprehend, every move it made seeming to contradict the limits of its biology. Was it really a creature, or was it more of an element? Perhaps it was only an illusion.

Whatever it was, it was their opponent. Six American Mews, two aliens, and Ryou all stood on the pavement, staring up at their foe.

"We'll split into teams. Diamondback and Bolt Noir, see if you can flank it. En Pointe and Chaim, see if you can distract it from its right side," Lone Wolf began to organize the battle. "Wild Tigress, you work on distracting Pai, Taruto, and…" She glanced to Kisshu to fill in the blank.

"Gentiel," Kisshu supplied.

"Right, him," Lone Wolf nodded. "Kisshu and I will attack from its left side. Ryou and Blue Morpho will take it on at the front, mostly for diversionary purposes. And where is the Black Knight, anyway?"

"Okay everybody," Bolt Noir growled in her most serious tone, "let's go!"

* * *

Mew Wild Tigress jumped onto the side of the parking garage which was across the street from the Yum Center. She was clambering up level after level when she heard Gentiel shout in a well enunciated yet emotionless voice, "Go, Chimera Ultima!"

The neon green mew could see Kisshu and Lone Wolf on the roof of the skywalk that led from the garage to the center. The couple crouched there, waiting for their turn to strike.

* * *

The Ultima roared from atop the Center's roof as it bent down it attempt to snatch Blue Morpho in its mouth. The butterfly mew fluttered away just in time.

En Pointe was the first to attack it, her ribbon wrapping around its muzzle, and she yanked up its head, blasting it with a sound wave attack. A little too late, she noticed the creature didn't have any ears. Where they should have been on its gazelle-like head, there was only a small set of horns. The monster opened its mouth, snapping her ribbon into silk shreds. The beast showed no sign of pain, only annoyance as it fixed the swan mew with its glowing, red slits. The only damage she had done was alert it to her presence. It glared at her with the fiery optics that began to cast forth a beam of red light, and suddenly En Pointe was frozen in fear.

It was Chaim who came to her rescue. Grabbing her out of harm's way with his telekinesis, he watched the laser beam hit the concrete, causing the solid surface to shatter. After setting En Pointe down safely, he thrust the force of his telekinesis into the Chimera's neck, making the creature arch its head back. The monster bellowed in agony. As one of the allies that had arrived after the rivals' research period, Chaim knew his ability would be heavily relied upon in this fight.

* * *

Blue Morpho flew forward with her sword in hand as the Chimera reared. She struck it on its right front paw, but to her horror, the monster barely noticed. What was worse? Her blade was stuck in the creature's thick flesh. As she struggled to get her weapon free, the monster took notice of her.

Ryou had been following the gaze of the Chimera, and when it landed on Blue Morpho, the nekomimi launched himself forward. Sinking his claws into the Chimera Ultima's belly, he cheered inwardly as the creature's eyes changed their target. He panicked for only a small moment upon realizing that his claws wouldn't pull free. _"Dying now would be better than being stuck as a cat for twenty years,"_ he reasoned.

Mew Blue Morpho had seen Ryou's charge and figured his claws must have encountered a similar fate as her sword. She abandoned her metal weapon and dove downward, gripping Ryou's shoulders tightly once she was in range. The momentum from her four-story dive managed to tear him from the monster's body and gaze just in time to avoid being roasted by a laser stare.

"Ksuh!" Ryou cursed at the initial pain. He muttered various other obscenities as he stared down at his bloody hands. His claws refused to retract into his bleeding fingertips. One claw – the one from his left middle finger – was torn out completely. "What the h*ll is that thing made of?" he mumbled as Blue Morpho set him down on a bench. (Ironically, it was the same bench on which Ember had sat with Josué only months ago.)

Lone Wolf had witnessed the scene and decided to warn Mew Diamondback. She relayed her message to Kisshu and away he teleported to deliver it.

He reappeared behind the Chimera, hovering above its tail. He spoke to the snake mew. "Lone Wolf advises against biting this one. Blue Morpho's sword got stuck in its skin, and we don't want the same thing happening to your teeth." The snake mew nodded and Kisshu returned to his station.

"_If I can't use my weapon, I'll have to find a way to use my element. Chimeras don't have thought waves…" _Diamondback mused. "_But aliens do!" _Diamondback used her telepathy to delve inside of one of the aliens' minds. She started with Pai.

Bolt Noir also took notice of Kisshu's warning. Still, she charged a metal arrow with electricity and loaded it into the bolt of her bow. "Lightning shot!" and she let the arrow fly. It lodged in the Chimera's back, not moving, stuck fast. This gave her an idea. She began to shoot arrows in rapid fire into its back. The creature didn't notice at all.

* * *

Mew Wild Tigress had finally reached the top of the parking garage. _"Okay, I'm supposed to distract them. And… how do I do that?"_

The hostile aliens hovered near the corner of the parking garage. She ambled slowly over to them.

Taruto spotted her first. "What do you want?" he frowned. When Pai saw her, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What do you want?" Taruto persisted.

"I… actually have no idea what I'm doing," she confessed, taking on an embarrassed stance. She remembered the bond-thingy she had with Pai when she realized he wouldn't stop staring at her. _"Oh, Lone Wolf is good at this strategy stuff," _Tigress noted. _"Just me standing here is distracting at least one of them."_ She began to speak. "Peh…" His eyes twinkled involuntarily when she said his nickname. "You… you stole the pendants of the other mews, didn't you?" she asked, looking up at him with sad eyes.

His lips pressed into a thin line and his purple eyes dulled slightly. "Yes, I did my job," he admitted in a voice as hard and cold as steel.

She gave him a disappointed look and muttered, "Oh…" hanging her head. _"Milk his emotions, you dunce!" _the mindset of Emma screamed to the mindset of Wild Tigress. The mindsets melded slightly, and a tear rolled down the neon mew's cheek. _"Thatta girl. Make him believe it."_

Gentiel was onto this mew. He hadn't seen anyone manipulate Pai like this since Kisshu left. He summoned his blade-disk and cast it at her. Once again, Pai found his body acting on its own accord.

* * *

On the ground, Diamondback's eyes widened as she exited his mind. Pai hadn't been controlling the Chimera, but now the snake mew understood more about a Cyniclon's Bond than she had _ever_ wanted to know. Shaking her head to clear it of those thoughts, she began her entry into Taruto's mind. One of them had to be controlling this monster.

* * *

Bolt Noir reached upward, attempting to grasp the next arrow. The metal projectiles had lodged in the Chimera's thick skin in two rows, creating a perfect little ladder up its spine. She had climbed it halfway up the monster's back. Sure, it was quite a bumpy ride with the Chimera Ultima thrashing this way and that. Blue Morpho's wind attacks didn't make things any easier, but the fox mew hadn't fallen yet.

One such wind attack barreled over the Chimera's back now, causing her outstretched hand to miss its mark and drop. Noir was now attached to the Chimera by only one hand and one foothold, her entire left side dangling off the monster's back. Her free hand scrambled to find purchase; somewhere, anywhere! And it found it on a handful of fur. She felt the skin beneath it, and shouted in surprise.

* * *

Lone Wolf inquired of Kisshu, "Could you stop it?"

"How? Injecting my sai into its flesh to get stuck there? Doesn't seem like it would help anything…" he murmured.

"What about the type of parasite you used to make me better? Couldn't you use one of those to end this? Extract the host's DNA or something?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'd need at least a vague idea of what to target. And I have no idea how they made this Chimera," he admitted.

Suddenly, both of them heard Bolt Noir yelling, "Rubber! Its skin is made of rubber!"

"Did she just say 'rubber'?" Lone Wolf asked Kisshu.

"Yes, I believe she did," he confirmed.

"Good," she nodded in determination, "because rubber burns."

* * *

Pai deflected the disk and then found that not only his body moved against his will, but so did his mouth. "You hurt her, you forfeit me," he spat at Gentiel.

"Pai!" Taruto's facial expression changed to one of panic.

"Go right ahead," decreed Gentiel. "You're already emotionally compromised. You have served your last purpose. You are no longer needed."

Pai stood frozen in shock over what had just happened. Wild Tigress clung to his arm and began to drag him away, saying, "Let's go, Peh." His heart was overjoyed. His mind was in the pits of despair.

* * *

Bolt Noir released her hold on the ladder of arrows and slid down the monster's back. Her plan had been to fry it with an exceedingly strong lightning bolt, something that was easier to do at higher altitudes. This plan was now ruined, as rubber was unaffected by electricity.

Landing on her feet, she shouted, "Diamondback, why don't you help?"

"I _am_ helping," the snake mew hissed sharply, her tongue flicking out in frustration. She had found out that Taruto wasn't controlling this Chimera either. That left Gentiel. She entered his brain and began to search for whatever made the monster pliable. It was just a matter of time now.

* * *

Lone Wolf poured fire from her hands and onto the Chimera Ultima. She was shocked that the creature wasn't roasting alive.

Taruto laughed at her. "That Chimera is covered in a fireproof liquid. You won't be able to burn him," the pubescent Cyniclon jeered.

Chaim also heard Taruto's words. He decided to test the limits of his telekinesis… on a molecular level.

* * *

The Black Knight sat on his motorcycle – or, more appropriately described, hovercycle – flying over the buildings in the city. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, checking on his cargo. It had taken a while to get the supplies to make these little weapons, but the time spent waiting for the mailman to deliver them was going to be worth it. _"No,"_ he grinned, _"it's going to be a blast."_

* * *

Chaim focused diligently on removing every last particle of the flame retardant solution. He was getting a bit of a headache, but figured that now was no time to complain about that. He pushed himself more, extending the force of his telekinesis to the point of exertion, until he was sure he had gotten every last molecule.

Diamondback searched the inner recesses of Gentiel's mind. Not a cell of his cerebrum was left unexplored; not a single mental synapse untapped. Finally, she found what she was looking for in a small part of his frontal lobe. There seemed to be somewhat of a switch. She flicked it from "on" to "off" before making a hasty retreat from his brain.

In rode the Black Knight on his flying motorcycle, which he himself had created with his technopathy. Another product of his ability, a package of five grenades, sat on the back of the vehicle. He pulled them out and dropped them one by one as he hovered above the Chimera. "Bombs away!" he shouted cheerfully. This monster wasn't made from an insect, so he didn't find it frightening.

The grenades exploded on impact, making the Chimera even more vulnerable, blowing gashes into its flesh. The creature shrieked in agony. Opening its mouth, it spewed out a cloud of thick smoke as a defense mechanism. Blue Morpho used a breeze to guide the black fumes away, and then Lone Wolf again stood with fire in her hands.

Launching the flames onto the monster, she watched it burn. Everyone was holding their noses as the smell of burning rubber permeated the air.

Gentiel telepathically told the Chimera to fly into the river and was surprised to find that he had lost communications with it. "Taruto!" he shouted. "We're leaving." The Ardenite vanished through a ripple with his new apprentice following.

* * *

Back at the house, the Tokyo Mews had helped Akasaka prepare a victory party, as they had been unable to fight in this battle. The first manner of celebrations was the toast.

"We did it!" Ember held up a glass of grape juice.

"Cheers!" the other teens replied, raising their beverages. They all downed their root beer, ginger ale, fruit punch, and various juices.

Kisshu sniffed at his can of root beer, and Chaim eyed his punch quizzically. However, both aliens decided to partake of their beverages.

Kisshu's eyes widened at the sweetness of the soda. He licked his lips and gulped down the rest rather quickly. He then proceeded to let out a rather loud and uncouth belch. Flinging his hand over his mouth, he looked rather surprised. "What was that?" he asked with wide, golden eyes. Most of the humans in the room were too busy laughing – at either his burp or his shock – to answer the question. Minto merely stared at him in disgust.

Chaim began to lap punch from his glass like a cat, as he had seen Ryou doing, thinking it was the proper mannerism for drinking this particular beverage.

"Chaim, what are you doing?" Aimee asked with a quizzical yet amused expression on her face.

"I was… nothing," he sat the glass down on the table and tried to keep from looking embarrassed.

Pai stood in a corner, refusing to celebrate. He saw no reason to toast what seemed to be the death of his people.


	28. The Story of the Star

**Author: Arigato to SonicXMinagirl for your support! ^_^ I appreciate your ability to overcome others' opinions and am happy that you like the KishXEmber pairing. I was feeling really down as of late due to others' criticism, so your review came along just in time. You really helped cheer me up, so thanks. Just goes to show, all you readers should review because you never know how helpful it can be. **

**And I even allow anonymous. Right, Anony mouse 101? ;)**

* * *

The party was in full swing. The furniture had been cleared out of the dining room and it was now being used as a dance hall, even if it were a small one. By holding Ember as close to himself as he possibly could during the slow songs, Kisshu attempted provoking Josué into doing something rash as an entertainment for the party. However, his plan failed, as Josué was too busy dancing with Minto to notice. Raquel, Aimee, and Victory danced together in a group on the fast songs. Ryou stood in the corner and occasionally changed into a cat and back. Ichigo was stepping on Masaya's feet, and Berri and Tasuku just turned in a circle and stared into each other's eyes. Eventually Raquel dragged poor Retasu into the dancing circle of girls and the bespectacled mew struggled to keep up with their moves. Zakuro sat in a chair in the nearby kitchen and nodded her head to the music as Emma and Bu-Ling stood guard over the snack table, sneaking a cheese puff or a potato chip here and there.

Pai wanted none of the festivities. He teleported into Emma's bedroom and stretched himself out across her yellow comforter. Grateful as he was for the Mews' hospitality (which had only been given after Diamondback explained that she had read his mind and he was in the clear), he was not in a celebratory mood.

Chaim, who was never much for parties regardless of the occasion, found him there while trying to better familiarize himself with the house. "Oh, it's you, Pai. What are you doing up here?"

"Avoiding the celebration of my people's demise, _your highness_" was his stoic and stinging reply.

Chaim gave him a look that blended confusion and irritation onto one visage, until he remembered that Pai hadn't been told. "Ah. You're wondering why Kisshu and I are so excited about this victory."

Pai humphed. In his mind, it was not a victory. It was a loss.

"Pai," Chaim began, walking over and seating himself in Emma's moon-chair, "were you ever told the reason for my exile?"

"No, your highness, I was not," he replied. He felt slightly guilty about the disrespect of protocol and hurried to correct his mistake. The older Cyniclon had often behaved rudely toward the 'outcast prince' back home, and decided that perhaps now it was time to make small amendments now that the two of them would be seeing each other more often.

"Well," Chaim began, "as you know, the Earth Recovery Plan was not the only attempt being made to save our planet." Pai nodded and Chaim went on, "The New World Project was also underway. About six months after your second departure to Earth, I joined the Project under order of my father, who figured it would help my reputation with the people."

Pai wasn't surprised by this. Prince Chaim was famous for being a social recluse. It most likely had to do with his unattractive appearance.

"I soon discovered that I enjoyed the science of mapping out the galaxies," Chaim continued, "and so I began to seclude myself and work on private goals for the sake of the Project." Pai managed a rueful smile. So the king's plan to socialize his son had backfired, as usual.

The prince kept going. "One day I happened to discover a planet so luscious and resourceful that even humans could survive on it. The strange thing was there were no mentally advanced life forms on it. Or rather, there were no signs of them from the planetary scans.

"Puzzled by this, I used my royal teleportation abilities to investigate this planet personally. I walked on the surface of this new planet and discovered something even more amazing." Pai was now listening to the prince's words without trying to hide his interest. He was also a bit impressed that Chaim had done something so bold.

"This new planet," Chaim remarked, "wasn't new at all. It was, in fact, very old. On this planet I found architectural ruins. Upon closer study of them, I realized that the civilization that made them… was ours."

Pai blinked a few times, grasping this, before nodding slowly for Chaim to continue.

"You know the Disaster Calendar? The ancient stone pyramid that sits in the grand hall?" asked the blue-haired Cyniclon.

"Yes," responded Pai. "That's the calendar that predicted the necessity of our ancestors to evacuate their home and search for shelter on another world. What about it?"

Chaim grinned slowly, his blue eyes sparkling. "I found its original platform; the place from which they removed it before leaving. The runes all around this place were telling the Calendar's purpose. And I didn't find it on Earth. I found it on this new yet old planet, which – for the sake of the discussion – shall be called Cynclonia Star."

"Your highness," asked Pai in a voice dark with suspicion, "whatever are you trying to imply?"

"I'm not _implying_ anything, Pai. I'm _telling_ you; our people never inhabited Earth the way we were taught they did. Our entire history has been a lie. Your entire career was to 'recover' a planet that was never ours to begin with. This entire time we have been fed falsehoods and swallowed them in our ignorance!"

Pai's eyebrows knit over his face in perplexity. "But… why?"

"I don't know," Chaim answered honestly, shaking his head. "And I suspect I was exiled because Blood Red didn't want me finding out. I teleported home and told her of my miraculous discovery. Two intergalactic teleportations had exhausted me, so I went to sleep. When I awoke the next morning, I was informed of my banishment.

"We aren't supposed to know about Cynclonia Star and the true origins of our race. For some reason, Blood Red wants us to continue to strive for Earth. I have no idea what this reason could be, but whatever it is, it has nothing to do with helping our people."

Pai looked at Chaim oddly. "So what you're telling me is that we have no logical reason to wage war on the Earth?"

"Yes," Chaim replied.

After thinking about this for a while, the older Cyniclon looked up and said, "Then I do believe I understand why your highness and Kisshu have changed sides."

"Then will you help us?" Chaim asked gently.

Pai nodded. "I will help my people, the same thing that I have always done." He rose from the bed and stood on the floor, looking down at Chaim where he sat in Emma's moon-chair. "But from what you've told me about Blood Red, I now understand that the best way to help them is to help you."

Chaim smiled up at Pai and nodded, his eyes sparkling in agreement. That's when Emma ran into the room.

"Hey!" the brunette girl was suddenly flustered. "What are you doing in my room? Get out, I need to change!" Somehow, the teenager had a red beverage soaking the front of her shirt.

"I'm sorry, na-no-da! I thought I could balance all five of them, na-no-da!" Bu-Ling shouted apologies from the banister in the hallway. She had been standing on it with five cups of punch perched on the end of her nose when she had had the sudden urge to sneeze, and thus soiled Emma's shirt.

"It's okay, Bu-Ling," Emma sighed. Then she turned to the aliens. "But you guys seriously need to get out of my room. Why are you in here, anyway? Peh, you weren't sniffing my underwear, were you?"

Both Pai and Chaim made horrified faces before sweat-dropping and exiting the room. Emma slammed the door behind them. Kisshu leaned inside of Ember's doorframe, laughing his head off and gasping indecipherable phrases. Chaim turned to Pai and said, "And people wonder why I don't like parties."


	29. The Marriage

Gentiel wasn't always emotionless. Indeed, there was once a time when he experienced love. Her name was Sylva. She was, like him, a Cyniclon. He had spent his years before meeting Sylva practicing his warrior skills. He had the most potential of anyone in the Ardenite clan. However, he could never focus on the task at hand. He was always too easily distracted.

Then he had met Sylva. She was beautiful and kind. He couldn't help but to fall in love with her. And she returned his love. Gentiel finally began to understand the importance of sharpening his skills. It wasn't a game anymore. He had someone that he had to protect.

He graduated the warrior academy earlier than most. At the end of the ceremony, the time came for him to pledge his sole allegiance to Blood Red and her army. The vow went something like this: "I hereby pledge to seek only the will of the goddess. If she bid me to leave my home and my family, then I shall abide. If she bid me to leave my life and my love, then I shall abide. If it is her will that I sacrifice what is most dear to me, then for her I shall do it. I am a member of Blood Red's army. I will obey her without question."

But when Gentiel opened his mouth to say those words, he knew that he couldn't. What if Blood Red asked him to kill Sylva one day? He could never do that. He closed his mouth and kept his silence. When the elders prodded him to say his vow, he shook his head. "I have something dearer to me than this position. I cannot accept."

Blood Red became furious with him. The order was sent and Sylva was arrested and dragged to the temple. When Gentiel heard this, he rushed there as well, fear gripping his heart. When he arrived, he watched Sylva sink into the pool beneath Blood Red's orb; the prison within the spirit realm. Gentiel's face drained of all color as he watched his love disappear before his very eyes. It was then that Blood Red spoke. "Gentiel Sasayaiku, you will pledge yourself to me. Indeed, you will _marry_ me. For if you don't, you will never see her face again."

What could Gentiel do other than agree? So he asked her, "When?"

"When the time is right," Blood Red had answered.

* * *

That had been fifteen years ago.

Kisshu had once asked Gentiel why he still called Blood Red "Mistress" if they were affianced. The answer was simple. Gentiel called Blood Red "Mistress" because he was her slave.

Now, a few days after the Chimera Ultima battle, Gentiel knelt in the temple. He spoke to the goddess whom he served. "Mistress, I have tried everything of which I am able to think. I am no longer sure what to do. I ask your guidance."

She replied to him, "Then come unto me. Today, we wed. You will be given my power, and with it, we shall conquer them."

So now the time was right. Gentiel had hoped to die before this moment, but his hopes were now accosted. He rose from his kneeling position and said, "Yes Mistress."

* * *

Taruto noticed that it had been two days since Gentiel had entered the temple. He still hadn't come out. What was going on? The young Cyniclon was hit with a dangerous sense of foreboding. Tearing through the things in Pai's former room, he found the bag of pendants and Ichigo's pet robot.

"Alien! Alien!" Masha squeaked. Taruto grabbed him and the bag before teleporting to the only person he felt he could trust.

* * *

Pai and Emma sat in the green moon-chair in her bedroom, lip-locked yet again. When they broke the kiss, she breathed sultrily, "Not bad, Peh. I might have taught you a thing or two." He raised one corner of his mouth in a lopsided smile, pleased with his lifemate's satisfaction. He leaned in to kiss her once more until a voice interrupted.

"Eewww!" the voice was young and male.

Pai's eyes went wide and he immediately pulled his mouth away. "Taruto! What are you doing here?" he asked in a slightly frantic tone.

"I don't know where else to go…" he replied, hanging his head in embarrassment. Pai noticed an object in each of Taruto's hands. One object was a dark blue, drawstring bag. The other was a light pink ball of fluff.

"Alien! Alien!" Masha chirped annoyedly, trying to pull his tail out of Taruto's grip and flailing around wildly in the process.

Pai understood the gravity of the situation from the desperation in Taruto's voice. "Taruto, what happened?" he asked gently.

The younger Cyniclon raised his caramel eyes to meet Pai's lavender ones. "Gentiel went into the temple two days ago. He hasn't come out since. I didn't know what to do… I still don't. So I came here."

It was then that Kisshu warped into the room. "I heard everything from next door in Ember's room," he explained quickly. Kisshu glanced at Pai. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Pai nodded. "Gentiel's getting married." At Pai's words, Taruto's jaw dropped.

"This is bad," Kisshu surmised, and Pai nodded in agreement. "We should tell the others."

* * *

"So Gentiel is marrying your supposed goddess? Did I comprehend that correctly?" Ember asked.

"Yes," Kisshu responded with a nod.

"So… what's bad about this again?" inquired Raquel.

"In theory," Pai explained, "Blood Red's power would be transferred to Gentiel's body, allowing him to use her force in the physical world whereas before her power was confined to the spirit world."

Masaya gasped. "So, in effect," he swallowed, "it would be somewhat similar to what happened with Deep Blue and me?"

"Not exactly, but similar yes," Pai agreed.

Ember was thinking rather intensely on the subject. The arctic mew then came to a conclusion and shared it with the persons in the room. "This Blood Red… She wants to destroy Earth even if it's unnecessary for the salvation of her people. She's from the spirit world and needs to possess a mortal body to inflict her power on the physical world. That doesn't sound like a deity to me. That sounds like a demon."

The eyes of every mew and alien widened at this revelation. Josué chewed his lip nervously. Tasuku comforted Berri with a hug, and Masaya looked at Ichigo with a concerned expression.

Then Victory noticed something. "Where are Ryou and Keiichiro?"

"Minah-san," (everyone) Keiichiro cleared his throat as he walked into the room, Kisshu and Pai parting to let him through. "I have some sad news." At his feet, a grey tomcat rubbed against his ankles and purred. "I was watching the clock. It has been at least ten minutes since he shifted forms. Ryou will never be human again."

Retasu and Raquel both began to cry. While Retasu's tears fell silently out of respect, Raquel wailed in the emotional agony of one who had lost their love before confessing their feelings. Emma sniffled a little at the loss of her "brother", and Pai walked over to comfort her. Zakuro had a pained expression on her face which was much akin to Aimee's. Bu-Ling, Ichigo, and Ember all wore shell-shocked looks. But Ember was probably the most affected. Ryou had been like an older brother to her. She had asked him for advice, made fun of him, and learned a lot from him. And now she would never do any of these things again.

Ryou looked up at everyone with innocent blue eyes. "Meow," he said. And then he ran to paw at the ribbons hanging from Kisshu's clothing.

* * *

"_She lied,"_ that was his first thought as he felt his conscious pushed into submission. _"She's not giving me any power. Instead, she is taking away my will. She's forcing me to relinquish control of my own body. No! No!"_ But Gentiel was powerless to stop it. His last thought was the name of the woman that he would never see again. _"Sylva…"_

* * *

Taruto gave the Tokyo Mews their pendants, and the whole team transformed and ran after Mew Lone Wolf. Bolt Noir screamed, "For Ryou!" as they ran.

"_I feel it in my spirit again,"_ Wolf mused inwardly. _"I know exactly where to go."_ As she ran, she prayed for strength and wisdom.

The location was the Louisville Slugger Stadium. It was empty because there was no baseball game today. The girls made their way to the baseball diamond, but something strange happened. Mews Berry and Blue Morpho were stopped by an unseen force on the top of the stairs that led to the field. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't go forward. The other mews jogged past rows of seats without them.

Mews Pudding and Wild Tigress were stopped by a similar barrier about two meters down the stairs. Another two meters, and Mews Diamondback and Zakuro were halted. Six more rows of chairs, and similarly Lettuce and Bolt Noir were unable to proceed. En Pointe and Mint were trapped at the platform near the railing as Ichigo and Lone Wolf turned to the right and scampered down a smaller flight of stairs that led to the ground-level seats.

The white wolf mew made it onto the field just fine, but the pink mew was trapped in the dugout by another barrier which no amount of Ribbon Strawberry Surprise would break.

Lone Wolf found herself face-to-face with her worst foe yet. This enemy resembled Gentiel very much; it even had blond hair, though now it hung freely without a ponytail. He was dressed in a brilliant red coat, and his eyes matched his clothing. These eyes had black rods that sparkled in the scarlet irises, and the trademark Cyniclon slit-pupils were thinner than usual. The body was male, but the voice that spoke was female.

"How is it that you are deemed worthy to come this close to me? Even my former servants are not so honored." The possessed alien gestured to the seats behind home plate. Pai, Taruto, Kisshu and Chaim all sat there. Well, Kisshu wasn't sitting. He was pressing against an invisible barrier with his palms. When it refused to yield, he took out a sai and started to stab at it, sending little yellow sparks caused by metal striking against this impenetrable force. He had already tried teleporting, and that too had been a useless effort.

"It is no honor to be in your presence," Lone Wolf growled. "You are an evil that needs to be extinguished."

The voice laughed. "You think you can kill me?"

For a moment, Lone Wolf doubted. Then she regained her courage. "No," she stated simply. "An immortal being cannot be killed. However, you can be eternally imprisoned behind the gates of Abadon."

At the mention of this destination, the demon seemed restless. "How do you know of this place?" it rasped, its voice morphing into something ethereally evil.

"I am a servant of the Most High. And through me, He will imprison you in that place."

"We'll see about that," it replied. The possessed body stretched forth its hand and blasted a red energy from its palm.

Lone blanched, and for a moment, her courage failed her. She ran to the side and ducked. She stumbled and fell, and the energy beam hit her in her gut, blasting her against the wall of the outfield. Her body jolted on impact before falling to the ground. She managed to get to her feet and slowly forced herself to stand. _"I can't do this!"_ she thought as she aimed a fire sphere at her enemy. _"I can't defeat it."_ She blasted the ball of flames, and it went wide, not even coming close to her target. She furrowed her brow and tried again. This one whizzed over the alien's right ear, and her foe smirked, walking closer.

"_With every step it takes I'm closer to my doom." _Lone began an involuntary keening wolf-whine as she shot another fire-ball. This one landed in the grass before the demon's feet and sputtered out. Her enemy was so close; she could tell she only had one more shot. _ "This is it. It's over. There's no way I can prevail."_

And then she heard a warm and familiar voice speak to her in her spirit. _"You can't. But I can."_

She raised her eyes upwards and prayed. _"Heavenly Father, help me. I understand now. I am a Mew so that I may bring glory to You, and not to myself. Through Your power this war will be ended. And peace will prevail."_ When she had finished, something inside of her clicked.

Her hands moved on their own accord. She spoke, "You are hereby sentenced to your lot because you would not accept your Sovereign." Then, from her palms, roared an ethereal white fire. This blaze surged forth and enveloped the enemy.

To the surprise of the spectators, the body did not burn. Still, the demon let out hisses and shrieks as if it had been scathed from head to toe. Soon, a black and cloudy form like smoke emerged from Gentiel's body; the body which then collapsed to the grass. The barriers that contained the others began to shiver, shimmering from the movement.

The dark figure was bent over, screaming and groaning in agony. The fire swirling around it was made to purify, yet such an action was impossible with such an evil being. As it was immortal, the demon continued to hiss and spit and squeal, unable to be destroyed by the flames.

Then Ember said the words, "In the name of God, be banished to the depths of the pit, which shall be the place of your eternal torture."

The figure of darkness vanished, taking with it its screams of pain. And then the fire ceased. Gentiel's body returned to normal and the barriers disintegrated, sending the Cyniclon that had been struggling to break them tumbling over the railing before he caught himself in levitation. He then began to fly towards the girl he loved. Then other aliens and mews also rushed out to her.

As Gentiel rose to his feet, he was suddenly displaying his emotions rather freely. The one he now wore was confusion. "What happened? How am I still alive?" Then the air next to him shivered and another figure made itself known. This figure was that of a Cyniclon woman with green eyes and silver hair that trailed over her left shoulder in a braid that reached her hips. She looked around in a daze. Gentiel's eyes widened. "Sylva?" The woman looked at him and smiled. "Sylva!" he ran to her and wrapped her in his arms.

By now, Kisshu had reached Ember and was kissing her in as many places as was appropriate in public. Pai hovered over to Gentiel and Sylva and began to explain all that had happened, and Chaim was also there filling them in on Cynclonia Star and the truth about their people's history.

"Why were we never told this?" Gentiel asked sincerely. Pai and Chaim shrugged and shook their heads.

It was Ember who answered his question. "It was because she was a demon. Their entire purpose is to destroy humankind. And they were not above using you to accomplish that goal."

The other Mews had reached the baseball diamond by now. "Alright, we won!" shouted Wild Tigress. "This calls for another victory party!"

It was then that the transformations of the Tokyo Mews dissolved. "I guess this means the fighting is over now, na-no-da," Bu-Ling cheered. "And now, Taru-Taru and I can be friends!" The youngest Cyniclon blushed slightly as she glomped him.

* * *

**Author: Yay! No more war! But sadly, minah, this means out story will soon end. If you're wondering why my updates have been getting slower, this is why. It's so sad for me. It's almost over. What will I do when it's over? T.T**

**I'd like to say my thanks right here and now. To SwanMew for being my bestie that listened to everything I wrote before it was ever posted. To Whitewolfffy for encouraging me to post this, even if Chapter 11 made you wish I hadn't. To CelticLily for being with me from the beginning and sticking it out to the end. To SonicXMinagirl for giving an uplifting review at just the right moment. And also to countless other readers who have enjoyed this all the way through. But most of all, I thank God for my talents as a writer and my inspiration for this story.**

**A chapter and an epilogue. That is all that remains to be posted of American Mew Mew. I'll have other stories, of course. But I will always remember this one; the first long story that I ever finished.**


	30. Fluff 'N' Stuff

It had been a week since that last battle and all the Tokyo Mews had gone home. To everyone's surprise, Josué had left for Japan with Minto and Retasu. Apparently he and Minto had been having a secret romance. Now she wanted to introduce him to her parents. Certain people laughed and said they deserved each other.

* * *

Grace was up in her room when her mom knocked on the door.

"What is it, Mom?" Grace asked politely.

"Your brother David is home from college for the weekend and is going to stay in the spare bedroom, okay? I'm just letting you know," Mrs. Swann replied.

"Okay," replied Grace, hiding her nerves as her mother left, shutting the door behind her.

The instant it was closed, she flew through the bathroom vanity area that joined the two bedrooms. "Chaim," she whispered into the room, "you have to sleep in my room tonight. My brother is sleeping over in this room. Chaim? Chaim?"

"Psst," said a voice behind her, and a finger tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump and whirl around.

"Chaim!" she breathed. "You startled me."

He apologized before saying, "I heard your mother. You didn't have to warn me."

"You heard her?" asked an incredulous Grace. "How?"

Chaim pointed to his rather large ears. "Do you think these are merely for appearances?" he teased.

"Ah, right," she smiled.

* * *

Later that night, Chaim found himself dozing off while floating near the ceiling. He began to drift through the air, his drowsiness causing him to be blissfully unaware of the fact that he was moving toward the rapidly spinning ceiling fan.

Grace woke up to a slight thud. Chaim knelt on the floor, holding his left shoulder, which had been left exposed in his sleeveless black top, having taken off his robe earlier. She didn't know what had happened. Grace asked him, "Chaim, are you okay?"

He groaned. "That contraption on your ceiling bit me."

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I should have turned to fan off. I'm sorry." She went and knelt next to him, her knee brushing against his blue silk pants. Even in this dim light, she could tell that he was bleeding.

"It's not your fault," he smiled at her. "And it isn't a bad cut either."

"No, it is my fault," Grace insisted. Grabbing his left hand, she led him through the bathroom vanity area and into the room that contained the toilet and shower, shutting the door behind them. She began to rummage through the first aid kit that sat in a basket on a table across from the toilet. "I can fix it."

She found the bottle of peroxide and was searching for a bandage as Chaim told her not to worry about it. After finding the box of self-adhesive Band-aids, she turned back to Chaim. Looking at his arm, she could see that the small cut was no longer there.

"Didn't I tell you not to worry?" he grinned, teasing her a little. "My kind heals much quicker than yours. That little scratch was nothing about which to be so concerned."

Grace blushed, her face matching her hair. "I- I see…" she stuttered.

It was at this moment that there was a voice coming from the direction of the spare room. "Grace, who are you talking to?" asked her brother, David. He walked into the vanity area and opened the door to the bathroom. Confused, he looked around and ran a hand through his dark hair.

The light was on in the room, and a bottle of peroxide sat on the floor next to a box of bandages. The first aid kit had been strewn into a mess within its basket. That was strange. Grace usually cleaned up after herself, at least in the shared areas of the house. And he could have sworn he had just heard her voice.

* * *

One moment, Grace was sitting on the bathroom floor with Chaim, hearing her brother's footsteps approaching. The next, she was on the roof, surrounded by stars.

"Sorry," Chaim apologized. She stared at him and blinked owlishly. "I figured it wasn't good for him to see me. Was I right?"

"You brought me up here?" she asked.

He grinned, his pearly fangs winking in the moonlight. "Well, yes. I teleported. How else could we have gotten here?"

Grace looked up at the sky, particularly at the moon, which was full tonight and washed the world in a soft light. "I was thinking of a sudden breakdown of the time-space continuum. Although, thinking about it, those are the same thing. I just assumed it was less controlled."

She heard Chaim chuckle and turned her head to face him. His ice-blue eyes sparkled in amusement, and Grace suddenly felt very embarrassed. Blushing, she returned her gaze to the sky. "The stars are pretty," she whispered gently.

"Yes, they are," Chaim agreed. He was watching the way they sparkled in her eyes. Aware of her affinity for knowledge, he looked for a group of stars which he had seen on celestial maps ever since his childhood. His search of the heavens was fruitful, and he pointed to the sky. "Grace, do you see that constellation right there?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied. "The constellation Cygnus?"

He wasn't sure what Earthlings called it, so he didn't answer her question. "Right there," he continued to point, "is the location of Cynclonia."

"Wow," she breathed in awe. "What's it like there?"

His smile collapsed. "Cold. Dark. We have to live underground in order to survive."

"Oh," she cast her eyes to his knees, wanting to look at him but not wanting to see that expression on his face. "But I meant, what's the society like? What are your customs and preferences and traditions?"

"Our world is too harsh to develop many social rhythms," he responded honestly. "There is: Respect the military and the monarchy. Other than that, there are no real social guidelines.

"There is one major difference though. Females of our species are not as common as they are on Earth. The male to female ratio rests at about ten to one. And as you already know about the bond, you are aware that anyone having more than one mate is impossible.

"It keeps the population in check, which is a good thing; fewer mouths to feed with food as scarce as it is. And we don't have to build new dorms for population swells either."

Grace was unconvinced. "Chaim, you don't seem to be sure that it really is a good thing."

He shrugged, and she stole a glance at his biceps. "Well," he began, "so few females means that only certain males get a mate. The girls are allowed to choose, and they do so based more on physical attributes than anything, wanting a strong genetic code to increase their offspring's survival rate.

"They," he glanced down awkwardly, "prefer males like my cousin, Kisshu; those with thin, wiry frames that have a deceptive amount of strength. It would cause any challenger to underestimate his opponent or something to that effect. Such things increase their offspring's survival odds."

Grace soaked in the meaning of Chaim's words as she took in his muscular frame. It seemed that by Cyncloni standards, he would be unwanted. She noticed he was watching her stare at him, and she blushed yet again.

"So," Chaim continued sadistically, "you can see; it's obvious that no one would ever choose me. You'd think the telekinesis and the position of Prince would change that, but it doesn't. Their superficiality convinces them that skin deep is as far as they ever need to look." He shook his head in a self-deprecating manner, his dark blue tresses caressing his shoulders.

Grace wanted to cheer him up. But she didn't have much experience talking to guys and was slightly out of her head from sleep deprivation, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. "That's kind of ironic, because by Earth standards – well, I guess I shouldn't say that as they vary from person to person – but by my standards at least, you are a very attractive person. I mean, Cyniclon girls must be stupid, because -" She felt his eyes on her again and stopped mid-sentence. Realization dawned on her when she saw his tiny smile, and the sudden lump that formed in her throat prevented her from speaking anymore. Blushing furiously, she leaned her head into her hands and began to chide herself inwardly.

She must have leaned too far, because she lost her balance and started sliding down the steep roof. She was too shocked to think of becoming En Pointe; too shocked to even scream. She let out a small whimper as she launched off the roof's edge. Free-fall…for about three seconds.

Then she was in a pair of strong arms that were not deceiving at all. Chaim had caught her mid-fall and was now hovering in the air, clutching her to his chest bridal-style. One of her hands clung to his shirt and she gazed up into his face; his handsome face, its eyes shining in the moonlight. His lips parted, then closed, and he cleared his throat. He was gazing right back her. He spoke in a voice that blended several emotions, many of which are nameless in the English language. "Alright. You fell, and I caught you. Now I ask that you would kindly return the favor."

She wondered what he meant, but he didn't give her long to figure it out. His lips suddenly closed over hers in her very first kiss; his too, she remembered. When their mouths parted, she asked him, "But Chaim, what about the Bond?"

"It's a bit too late to stop that, silly," he teased gently. "I trust you shan't break my heart?"

She smiled blissfully up at him. "I won't."

* * *

"Oi, Ember!" Kisshu smiled as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Let's go somewhere," he whispered seductively in her ear.

"Just a sec," she grinned up at him. "I have to feed Ryou really quick." She dumped the contents of the open tuna can she was holding into the bowl that sat on the counter.

They grey cat jumped up and began to eat from the bowl. No one really cared if he ate on the counter. It wasn't too long ago that he was eating at the table.

"Okay, let's go," Ember said as she tossed the can into the trash.

"Hai!" (Yes!) Kisshu nodded with a voice that seemed a little too peppy.

"What are you so happy about?" Ember asked him.

"Why don't you come with me and find out?" he teased. Taking her hand, he teleported.

Ember recognized their surroundings from a distant memory; about six months ago. _"The first battle I ever had… The first time I met Kisshu…"_ They were on the roof of Jewish Hospital, on top of the helicopter pad.

"I've been studying human social customs," Kisshu confessed as he dropped her hand and strode a few feet away. She noticed that today he had forgone his native attire and instead wore a black tank top and a pair of jeans. "I learned that humans have a tendency to formalize ordinary things. Sometimes certain things won't be taken seriously unless they are formalized. So, I decided to follow Earth customs with such a thing, because I want to prove that I'm serious."

She wondered to what he could be referring. He turned and looked at her, teleporting directly in front of her, then backing up a little. Kneeling down, he pulled a twinkling object from his pocket. As his eyes met hers, the ring he held in his fingers sparkled in the sunlight. Gold irises and a platinum circle captivated her attention. The former of these objects pleaded her acceptance. A small fear of her rejecting him rose as a lump in his throat which he forced himself to swallow. A voice as sweet and honey-like as his eyes poured out of his mouth. "Ember, be mine… forever."

Now there were other things sparkling in the sunlight as moist and glistening tears gathered in her eyes. She knelt down in front of him, clasped her hands over his, and replied, "I already am."

* * *

**Author: I decided to go ahead and put this chapter up too. And now, I'll do something I normally don't do. I beg reviews! Please, just answer this one question for me. Which pairing in this story do you prefer? Kimber, Chace, or Pehma? Answer this question in your review and I'll… invite you to the wedding! Yes. It's going to be awesome. Glass objects will be smashed. **

**So… review, minah-san! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. And if you can't decide, that's okay too. I'll be just as happy with such a review. Arigato! ^_^**


	31. Epilogue

"You could at least say 'thank you'," Ember huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and resting her hands on her elbows. He noticed the diamond winking in the light on her ring finger.

"Hmph" was his only response.

"I could have let you stay a cat, you know," Kisshu pointed out, furrowing a perturbed brow. He had used one of his special parasites on this ingrate's feline DNA, and now the blondie wouldn't even thank him!

Keiichiro spoke. "You'll have to forgive him. He's never been good at expressing his true feelings. He really is grateful that you didn't have him remain a household pet. Isn't that right, Ryou?"

"I didn't ask for your help!" Ryou snapped. Keiichiro sighed in disappointment.

"I should have turned him into a Chimera Anima," Kisshu mumbled.

"Hmph!" Ryou huffed again before proceeding down the hallway to his bedroom.

The others just shook their heads. Ember mused aloud, "You think that after being a cat for three weeks, something about him would be different, but…" No. Ryou was still Ryou. And that was something that would never change.

* * *

**Author: I warned you that this was an epilogue, not a chapter. So of course it's diminutive. **

**And with that, American Mew Mew is at an end. T.T Oh well, it was a good ride, right? Thanks to everyone again! And be on the lookout for the sequel. (It will probably take me a year or more to write it though.) What? Did you honestly think I would leave you hanging? I mean yeah, the war is over. But there's still a whole planet to save! (Did you guys just forget about Cynclonia?) So, add me to your Author Alerts because I haven't yet decided on a title. And I'm going to end this note now before it gets longer than the epilogue. o.O The epilogue which isn't over yet. ;)**

* * *

Ryou leaned against the wall on his bedroom and looked up at the ceiling, annoyed. He sighed in aggravation. _"I can't believe my life was saved by that perverted Cyniclon. So now I owe him. I owe Kisshu. What the h*ll!"_


End file.
